Oct 30, 2008 6:59 pm US/Central
What Will Change With Delta/NWA Merger Finalized
(WCCO)
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Northwest's planes will get new colors and the cabins themselves will also be changed.
CBS
Now that the government has given its OK to the Delta-Northwest Airlines merger, expect to see changes.
Northwest's planes will get new colors and the cabins themselves will also be changed.
"Today truly is an historic day," said Edward Bastian, the new CEO and president of Northwest Airlines. "We are still your hometown airline. We'll be a bigger, better hometown airline for many years to come."
Bastian talked about what the merger will mean, insisting there are many positives to the deal. He insists the hub at the airport will not shrink but actually might grow.
"This hub is secure. We've made that commitment right from the on-set. In fact, all our hubs are secure," Bastian said. "We'd be fools, quite honestly, to let anything happen to that."
The merger means there will be thousands of city-pairs now, giving fliers the chance to connect to more cities. There will be more non-stop flights and there might be more international flights too.
Bastian said fares will not automatically go up just because there's now less competition in the skies.
"In this economy, it's very difficult to see higher prices, I've got to be honest with you," Bastian said.
He also talked about the negatives of the merger, like the jobs that will be lost in the Twin Cities, likely administrative and clerical roles. Delta's headquarters will stay in Atlanta.
The Twin Cities won't loose service to smaller cities, but there will be fewer seats on flights to these places.
It'll take two years to merge the airlines completely. Northwest planes will be painted with the Delta logo and workers will also install Delta's seats on Northwest's planes.
The short story in this merger is this: Northwest is still its own airline and Delta just owns it. You'll still fly on Northwest, for now, and the flights are still called Northwest flights. None of that will change for about a year-and-a-half, when the airlines get one certificate to fly under the name, Delta.
Bastian also said your Northwest frequent flier miles are completely secure. It's going to take about another year for the WorldPerks program to merge into Delta's SkyMiles program.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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