I'm a Delta 1987 hire flying international (relatively senior in category), and am hoping that this merger doesn't happen at all. Even relative seniority will favor the Northwest guys, as our fleet is more skewed to larger aircraft. That being said, I don't expect any thing but relative seniority. Anything more would cause NWALPA to kill the deal; anything less would cause DALPA to kill the deal (if that is, in fact, possible).

I would expect that the DC9s and 747-200s will be parked soon after the merger, and that even the 747-400s could be dumped in favor of 777s. Richard Andersen has said that he doesn't want the initial version of the 787; could that order be in jeopardy? On the other hand, I see very little chance that Delta will not get the 737s, 757s, and 777s it has coming.

One possible wild card would be the existence of dormant Asian route authorities. If those exist, they might provide enough growth to offset the loss of the older airframes, and provide a reason to acquire more airframes.

This merger may be a good thing for the shareholders, but I worry that it's not good for either pilot group's career progression.