No matter what happens I still don't like a merger. There are some of us that came to DAL and didn't even apply to NWA. For me it was their bases and pay. I realize that people wrote that NWA took a bigger pay hit to keep their frozen A plan with a plused up B plan to get them to about a 50% retirement. New NWA hires only get a 5% B plan. DAL seemed to choose the opposite, higher pay and a one-time B-plan plus up of what they earned in the A fund. Now the merged carriers will have two types of pilots flying together, those with and without A plans. Also, the older NWA guys will get their pay back faster by not only coming onto the DAL payscale, but getting more by being on a rumored new/higher merged payscale. Then the question of seniority comes into play where they will be able to hold bigger equipment and their pay jumps even more. I can see why most NWA guys would e pro merger. Alot to gain. DAL seems to be offering equity (shares of stock). The value of which changes daily, can go to zero in a bankruptcy, and what the co will offer will by no means make up for career expectation differences. I'm sure more will go to the older (senior) guys who are less affected but have been with the company the most.
As far as the fleet goes, DAL supposedly had a plan to be an all Boeing fleet by 2015. Now the merger will bring in a bunch of Euro trash that the co did not want. Guess they are changing plans. As far as the DC-9 goes, they are/will be retired faster than replacements can come onboard. Means less jobs in the long run. I can see both cos, merged or not, siphoning more of the domestic feeder flying to the regionals since they seem to be adding 50-70-90 seaters faster. Scope in any contract is key for our survibal. As far as the 787, that program seems continually delayed like the A-380. That 2009 delivery date could easily get pushed to 2010 or later.
There is alot at stake here for both pilot groups. It seems though that NWA has more to gain than lose and there has really been nothing decent announced for the DAL guys, especially the 98-99 hires that the "senior NWA negotiators want stapled to the bottom."