Northwest Airlines And Delta Merge, Finally
The Northwest Airlines/Delta merger is finally done, says the Chicago Tribune. The new airline will be called Delta and will be run by Delta CEO Richard Anderson. With 75,000 employees and $34 billion in revenue, it will be the US's largest carrier.
Northwest, Delta deal gets done [Chicago Tribune]
(Photo: So Cal Metro )
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Gods, I hope their CEO is Richard Dean Anderson... for their sake.
@SkokieGuy: Through economies of scale, we will be able to offer today's travelers crappy service, hidden fees and uncaring, hostile employees in a more cost-efficient manner.
As a Minnesotan, I can assure you that Northwest already excels in providing those services.
Why did they go with Delta and not something like Norta, Delwest or Braniff?
@reddingofish: They should have, Delta's got negative brand recognition. An name change probably would help the image, but offer no change to customer service...
At least they'll be getting rid of their NWA logo. Every time I saw it it made me think of the rap group.
I travel a lot per my job, and I just don't understand why European airlines are so much better than U.S.-based ones. Are the EU airlines subsidized by the state?
Delta seems fine, and I'm excited about Wifi on flights come 2009. $9 3-hr/$12 +3-hr pricing plan? I'd pay $50 just not to be bored. I had free movies on my cross-Atlantic flight last month, and I could buy movies on my flight from ATL to SAN. However, when compared to Air France and the chilled salmon tabbouleh with risotto, Delta couldn't even hold a candle.
I have a bazillion miles on Northwest because they have yet to mess up in the last two years, and I'll be happy to join those with my Delta miles. Both companies seem less terrible than UAL or AA, but we'll see what the merger brings.
I've always wondered if people joked about Northwest referring themselves as NWA. For instance, asking if they fly straight outta Compton.
I guess if it did occur, the name change will end all that.
@Jesse:
I don't know about NWA, but you know that Delta is actually D.E.L.T.A., right? It stand for "Don't Expect Luggage To Arrive".
@GavinEstecado: Actually, Delta's one of the highest rated airlines for customer satisfaction. That doesn't say much in an industry where pretty much every company is intensely disliked, but I imagine it's Northwest's repeated low scores in this area that made them decide to retain the Delta name.
@HootieMac: If you thought things were bad with NW, wait until the operations are fully merged. I would have taken them over Delta any day.
I actually didn't have many problems with flying Northwest in the past. Guess that's all about to change now...
Hopefully people who already hold tickets (one for a trip in December, and one in January) won't get screwed during the future database merge.
@beernut:
"This plane is going to crash! Quick, CEO, build a new engine out of twine, pixie sticks and obama bumper stickers!"
So, if one had theoretically recently bought tickets on Northwest for a trip to the inlaws over thanksgiving, are they still good? Or should I look out for an email telling me my flight or connection or something just as annoying has been changed?
Oh god ... I've used Northwest in the past, and have loved it. It seemed to be one of the only airlines still trying to make the customers happy. I really hope that stays the same, after the merger.
@SkokieGuy: I've had OK service from both in the passenger sphere; nothing mind-blowing but nothing crippling either. Northwest has really good cargo operations though. I'd hate to see what happens to that portion with the merger to Delta; which has one of the worst cargo operations in my experience.
@OttoHelios: I've maintained for a while that they should have run with that and offered "Easy E-Check-in"
@sir_eccles: Don't worry. It takes a long-ass time to merge the schedules and no airlines are going to try and mix things up that much during the holidays.
Looking at this photograph makes me wonder if the two aircraft pictured are not about to "merge," themselves.
Is that the joke, Meg?
Dear Northwest,
Due to your recent merger and the announcement that you will be headquartered in Atlanta, please return $200,000,000 of the money we floated you when you were circling the toilet immediately you worthless incompetent fucktards.
Sincerely,
Minnesota
PS: Please send Doug Steenland to the WSR household. Make sure his health insurance is paid up.
My city just got farked. NWA services us from Memphis, Delta from Atlanta. Think we will keep both cities..... for that matter think the Memphis hub will remain a hub?
@BullLifter: Suposedly they are keeping some things from Northwest- cargo being one of them. Another is the online reservations system- it'll just be nwa.com with a Delta skin.
@BSAKat: I thought it was "Doesn't ever leave the airport."
@Corporate-Shill: Not that I trust him, but Delta's CEO says they can't expand anymore in ATL, so they'll do it at MEM. But as for you, yeah, expect half the flights.
Well if they're going to fail, please do it after I use up my NWA WorldPerk miles please.
In my experience Delta has been better than Northwest, but I haven't flown either in years. Delta was the airline we always took to see my grandmother in california. The one time we chose Northwest, I ended up sitting 5 rows back from my mom on both our flights, even though we bought our tickets months in advance. I was 10. It was scary.
Ugh, i hate flying either of these airlines. Flying domestic always Jet Blue, and if Jet Blue doesn't go there, well, time to shoot myself. Thankfully flying international presents you with choices like singapore airlines, emirates and cathay pacific, who turn a profit and pretend to genuinely care about your flight experience.
Gee, another merger creates a "too big to fail" megacorp? Just like the banks are doing with our bailout money, instead of helping homeowners.
Press Release from Delta: We are proud to join forces with Northwest. Through economies of scale, we will be able to offer today's travelers crappy service, hidden fees and uncaring, hostile employees in a more cost-efficient manner.