It’s Thursday, and there’s still no announcement that Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines will merge. Frustrating for shareholders and airline beat reporters? Yes. But a Godsend for air travelers, who would almost certainly benefit from a more competitive airline industry.
The unlikely heroes are airline pilots who reportedly have misgivings about this corporate marriage.
People close to the Delta-Northwest talks said the pilots unions have agreed on a comprehensive joint contract, but cannot agree to how seniority for the 12,000 pilots would work under a combined carrier. The people asked not to be named because of the sensitive stage of the talks.
If they can’t come to terms, it would’t necessarily stop the merger. But it would make it far more difficult.
Pilots at US Airways and America West waited until after the 2005 announcement that the airlines would combine to try to hammer out a seniority and joint contract accord. Nearly three years later, no joint pilot contract has been reached.
The pilots on both sides know how difficult the integration of US Airways and America West has been, and they are understandably reluctant to go into a merger without a deal.
But something tells me there’s more at stake than seniority issues. The pilots must also be pondering their future under a merged Delta-Northwest. They may not like what they see.
Neither will passengers. Combining Delta-Northwest will be bad for customers. Period.
Delta, Northwest and the other air carriers that are so eager to mate, have convinced the public in general — and the business press in particular — that they will go under if they have to continue flying solo.
I’m not convinced that the airlines will fail on their own. Only that if they’re allowed to merge, they will fail us.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I can’t imagine how bad a NW/DL combination would be.
A few months ago my mother and father in law flew ORD to Manila. After 24 hours travelling Northworst had got them as far as Detroit. On the way back they managed to lose one of their three bags, never to be seen again.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went ORD to Manila on JAL via Tokyo. The flight left ORD exactly on schedule.
A couple of days ago my brother in law went ORD to Manila on Northworst. Surprise surprise, exactly 24 hours after leaving home, he was in … you’ve guessed it …. Detroit.
Somebody shoot this godawful airline and put it (and the travelling public) out of its misery!
I hope it is doomed. Not so much becuase of comments about NWA or Delta service, but because of what it would do to competition. I think the airlines have moved in the correct direction by buying up or developing regional carriers as a way to consolidate. A Delta/NWA merger would not do very much for the traveling public. It might open up more gates at NWA hubs of MPS, MEM and DET for other carriers, but the rest would be a negative. NWA also owes the State of Minnesota for the States fiscal and flying publics’ support of NWA. It would be another example of the big guy looking out for the big guy if a merger were to take place.