U-S Airline Merger

And their Frequent Flyer programs? Glad I used 100,000 miles from NW to get to Europe this summer.

Yes, the're also merging their FF programs.

Part of the email I received from NWA:
Happy I'm using my FF Miles for my trip at the end of the month! I'll have to talk to my friends who work for both airlines and see how this will affect their jobs though.

"You can be assured that your WorldPerks miles and Elite program status will be unaffected by this merger. In addition, you can continue to earn miles through use of partners like WorldPerks Visa®. And once the new Delta Air Lines emerges you can look forward to being a part of the world’s largest frequent flyer program with expanded benefits.

The combined Delta Air Lines will serve more U.S. communities and connect to more worldwide destinations than any global airline. Our hubs – both Delta’s and Northwest’s – will be retained and enhanced. We will be the only U.S. airline to offer direct service from the United States to all of the world’s major business centers in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa and around North America."

A few answers:

1. In previous airline mergers, miles get combined without penalty. I had a TWA account when American bought them and my miles were transfered 1 to 1 to an American account. If you have both NWA and Delta accounts, expect to see information soon on combining them.

2. I don't think prices will rise that much because the market is soft enough they can't afford to. Also, Delta and NWA really didn't compete directly in a lot of areas (Delta stronger in Europe, NW in Asia, for example). The impact will likely be that, in the mid-term, some second-tier hubs (Cincinnatti and Memphis most likely) will be cut substantially.

3. Delta also has partnerships with most of the airlines NWA does (including KLM), so I don't think combining them will be an issue.

This makes me sad. I've had nothing but wonderful experience with NWA and nothing but awful experiences with Delta. I was always able to get AMAZINGLY low fares on NWA ($420 RT to Frankfurt, London in March), but never saw anything even close to that on Delta. I guess I can kiss those goodbye. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

I have a good amount Delta Skymiles and will be accumlating miles on Northwest for a flight to europe(actually their partner KLM)later this year.
Does anyone have an idea how this will be affected?

Will all Northwest miles be combined with Delta Skymiles?

Hi - check the Delta website for their code share partners. I think Air France is still one of them.

Sidney, I read in the Atlanta paper this morning that the Northwest and Delta sky miles will be merged together. Since we fly out of Atlatna we normally use Delta so that is where I have most of my miles but I do have a little bit with Northwest. That will help me some because I would never accumulate enough on Norhtwest to use them. Most of mine on Delta are accumulated through the AMEX credit card rather than flying.

The whole merger thing with DL and NW has to be approved by the Department of Justice. There will be strong opposition from certain politicians one of which is Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn) who heads the House transportation committee. His district could see the biggest loss of jobs so he has vowed to fight all airline mergers. He says it would be harmful to consumers and airline employees. Those for it say it will be good and those against it say it will be bad. There will be more mergers to follow. Rumor has it AA and Continental may do the same. We shall see.

Jennifer, it could be a regional thing with the difference in fares. From Atlanta Delta offers some great deals to Franfurt and other European cities from time to time. There were some sales this past winter in the low $200's. That is before the junk fees which will probably double the advertised price. Of course most of the great rates are in the winter season but many times there are some very decent rates through the middle of May.

Here is a link to some Q/A's on Delta's site that may be of help.

http://www.newglobalairline.com/faq/index.shtml#customers

From an In Charge Flight Attendant's prospective...Flight Crews do not merge well.

There will always be the "them" Vs "us" attitudes due to a blending of Senority and other important issues. Sometimes mergers result in unexpected layoffs and other cutbacks. It creates tension that often devides us.

I remember when two major Cdn Airlines merged...it was just like that. They had to maintain two seperate Crew Rooms for the longest time due to the squabbles and pettiness. And even when they shared one room, the room had an imaginary line down the middle.

All these years later, some still think of and indentify themselves as an "ABC F/A" Vs an "XYZ F/A"...especially when we want to say something negative about eachother...

Sometimes it just doesn't make for good relations within. I'd hate to be a Delta Crewmember right about now...I guess we'll see just how friendly their skies really are...

My biggest concern is the streamlining of routes that may occur as a result. I fly out of a regional airport to a hub, and with NWA and Delta today, I have the choice of Minneapolis, Detroit, Chicago, Cincinatti, and Atlanta. Some how I doubt all of those options will survive