Travel

(WCCO) After months of talk about a combination between Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, travelers passing through the Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul airports had mixed feelings after hearing that the deal had been approved by company officials.

At MSP, some expressed concerns about losing flight destinations and paying more for a ticket.

"During that period of time I have enjoyed Northwest and the actual service they provide because I think it's pretty good in general and they're a good airline so this merger will interesting to see what's going to happen," said passenger Niall Rowan, who flies on Northwest every time he travels from London to Minneapolis about four times a year.

Since Delta and Northwest do not have much overlap in their routes, most of the major destinations shouldn't be affected by the merger. But Northwest's smaller routes could be eliminated due to the merger.

"I think they have a strong presence in this part of the country and I appreciate all the direct routes that they have so I'd be nervous that that would affected," said Northwest passenger Erin Russell.

Some airline analysts predict that the merger shouldn't cause a huge spike in air fare and believe it could allow smaller airlines to grow in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. But other frequent flyers have their doubts that ticket prices won't be affected.

"I just think the whole industry is in trouble anyway. So it seems to me with high fuel prices and the fact that they are going to merging to make this mega-airline. I mean they can't even get it right now, single, as individual entities," said Northwest frequent flyer Angela Rayburn

However, at Atlanta's airport, the threat of higher ticket prices failed to faze those interviewed.

"Ticket prices are already very high, so I can't imagine them any higher," said Teresa Tschida of Minneapolis, who had just flown into Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport aboard a Northwest flight.

Airline officials said the combined carrier, which would be the world's largest, will keep the Delta name and will be headquartered here instead of the Minneapolis area where Northwest is based.

Although Tschida said she usually flies Northwest, she wasn't bothered about her hometown airline being swallowed up by Delta.

The deal still must be approved by regulators, and unions representing some Northwest employees said they will oppose it.

Chip Richardson of Thomaston, Ga., who was sitting in the airport atrium waiting for his wife to fly in, said he has flown Delta for years and was not worried about a combination leading to higher fares by cutting down on the number of seats available.

"I hate to say that, but it's going to happen," Richardson said. "But, you've got to fly."

Nehanda Lindsey of Atlanta, who had just arrived on a Delta plane from Washington, was sort of ambivalent about the announcement, and she wondered whether service would be better even if prices rise.

"I'm like wait and see," Lindsey said. "The cost factor is what I'm worried about."

She said it was good that the combined airline would be based in Atlanta because that would preserve jobs in the area.

Wayne Snelling of Atlanta expressed some concern about the economic impact on Atlanta as well as the airlines merge staff, including executives.

"Two heads are better than one, but not necessarily for my hometown," said Richardson, who also was in the atrium awaiting the arrival of his wife.

Asked about fares, he said he wasn't worried about a decrease in competition because of the presence of other carriers with a large presence in Atlanta, such as AirTran.

"I'm more concerned about the economy," Snelling said.

A lot of flights are business flights, with someone else paying the fare anyway, said Craig Lengyel of Alpharetta, Ga., who had just arrived with his family from Chicago.

He said he probably would fly less when he had to pay personally, but he said he hopes higher fares might lead to better service.

 

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)