Its over (almost)

[Don Smith]

DL/NW one step closer to becoming one.


At the end of this month, Delta Air Lines expects to hit one of the most significant milestones in its merger with Northwest Airlines, more than a year after the deal closed. The Atlanta airline expects to get a single operating certificate, which allows the two carriers not just to be a single airline on paper, but to operate as one.

 

[jenny@nw]

sniff sniff?

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

DL is a fine airline, but I will miss the Red Tail!

 

[robbedagain]

hope delta does what US did and paint heritage planes to commerate the airlines of the past in this case Western, NWA, forgot some of the others

 

[Kev3188]

sniff sniff?

Yes.

hope delta does what US did and paint heritage planes to commerate the airlines of the past in this case Western, NWA, forgot some of the others

No plans for that, amigo. Delta "branding" is MUCH more important than recognizing the parts of the current machine.

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

hope delta does what US did and paint heritage planes to commerate the airlines of the past in this case Western, NWA, forgot some of the others

Chicago & Southern? Northeast? Would be very cool indeed!

 

[Kev3188]

Here's a few to pick from...

 

[USFlyer]

No plans for that, amigo. Delta "branding" is MUCH more important than recognizing the parts of the current machine.

An odd statement about an airline who changes liveries so often that the painting from the prior livery change is not completed before announcing a new livery.

 

[NAPAUS]

An odd statement about an airline who changes liveries so often that the painting from the prior livery change is not completed before announcing a new livery.

SO TRUE. Btw, aren't they due for a new one soon!

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

http://www.startribune.com/business/830877...iD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

 

[tech2101]

NY Times Article:

Delta-Northwest Merger’s Long and Complex Path

 

[WorldTraveler]

I must say that the addition of red trim to DL's color scheme (onboard esp.) adds a touch of class that for alot of us will always be reminiscent of the red tails.
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While DL is not big on heritage paint schemes, I think DL has done a better job of recognizing and embracing the differences that were NW more than they did with Western and Pan Am. Although it appears that DL is taking nothing from NW's heritage or processes, they have taken far more than they ever did from Pan Am or Western. There are noticeable changes in DL's product as a result of NW - and I think they are largely positive.

 

[eolesen]

Pan Am wasn't a merger. It was a limited scope purchase, just like UA in the Pacific. There's no other connection aside from routes and a crappy decrepit terminal complex at JFK.

Western? Nothing left in terms of that one, aside from the SLC hub. But they weren't a nationwide brand or globally recognized name, either.

 

[WorldTraveler]

I'm sure the 6600 ex-Pan Am employees consider themselves far better off than the TWA employees and their network which has been almost entirely gutted from the AA system. DL's JFK and NE Shuttle operation is far larger than anything AA acquired from any of its mergers or even if its post-deregulation era internal growth attempts. In fact, DL's presence at JFK over the past decade has grown by 80% more flights while AA has reduced flights by 27%.
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While it busts your crotch to admit it, DL has indeed maintained the vast majority of the western merger. SLC is larger than it ever was with Western. Come to think of it, DL has more of its west coast presence today than AA does a decade later. Last I checked, it was SFO-HNL and BOS that was biting the dust to finish off AA's non-hub presence in northern CA - how many years after the SJC hub folded.
Not sure why are worried about what DL dumped but apparently they have found plenty of new markets to replace what they chose not to fly, something AA apparently could not do.
Wanna see the numbers?
AA's flights to/from California down 63% while DL is flat.
AA's seats to/from CA down 47% while DL is flat.
AA's ASMs to/from CA down 27% while DL's are up 21%.
For LAX alone, AA is smaller in flights and seats but slightly higher in ASMs while DL is larger by 40-100% in every category.
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So not only has DL's acquired hubs at both JFK and SLC grown, so has its presence to/from California including California.
In contrast, AA's California presence is half the size it was a decade ago and only AA's DFW and MIA hubs have grown while ORD and JFK are smaller than they were a decade ago.... and those three post-deregulation era AA hubs in SJC, BNA, and RDU plus that acquired hub at STL - well let's just say they went the way of the dodo bird.

DL has indeed grown its acquired hubs.

 

[tech2101]

Western? Nothing left in terms of that one, aside from the SLC hub. But they weren't a nationwide brand or globally recognized name, either.

LAX for DL was a result of the Western deal and was and has been a boon for them.