According to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, Delta and Northwest Airlines may announce a merger within the next 48 hours. The New York Daily News had a similar report yesterday. Last month’s merger attempt failed when Delta’s 6000 pilots rejected the proposal. DAL and NWA may press ahead this time, regardless of the pilots.
The merger would create the world’s largest airline. Delta and Northwest have been linked for years through code sharing and marketing agreements.
No word on what the combined airline might be named. Creating a new brand is risky and expensive. The usual pattern is for the stronger airline to provide the branding, although America West decided to adopt the US Airways brand after their merger. TWA didn’t exist for very long after its merger with American.
Both airlines fly into Honolulu. In this morning’s Honolulu Advertiser, there’s a long front page article about a possible reduction in the airport’s modernization plans. Honolulu needs a better airport. The current facility wasn’t built to handle long lines of passengers in the security screening areas. Moving sidewalks, more buses and a train system are key success factors for large international airports. No one flies to Honolulu to visit the airport, of course, but the airport is the first and last thing that visitors to Honolulu will see before they leave the state.
Sure, there’s a 14% dip in passenger seats after Aloha and ATA closed down. Other airlines will fill the gap. Hawaiian and United have already added flights. I’d expect a combined DAL-NWA would follow suit.
Related posts on billso.com
- 8 April 2008: Aloha cargo flights disrupted — is Hawaii’s economy next?
- 3 April 2008: ATA Airlines shuts down
- 2 April 2008: Aloha cargo sale and neighbor island mail service in jeopardy
- 2 April 2008: Still on track?
- 30 March 2008: Aloha Airlines shuts down
