Scoop

Lets just hope its true!

Scoop

Report: Delta, Northwest Walk Away From Merger Talks

POSTED: 9:52 am EST February 28, 2008
UPDATED: 10:31 am EST February 28, 2008

[FONT=Arial] ATLANTA -- CBS 46 News has learned that a source close to the merger talks between Northwest and Delta airlines said Thursday that both airlines have walked away from negotiations.
The key sticking point, according to the source, is disagreement between the airlines' pilots over seniority. The source said both pilots unions wanted their members to retain their current seniority in the new airline.
Both sides originally said the seniority issue was only a minor sticking point. But the source said it is clear now that the issue could end merger talks for good.

The merger would have created the world's largest airline.
Delta is the sixth-largest airline in the world and is based in Atlanta. Delta has approximately 48,000 workers and is Atlanta's largest employer.
Stay with CBS46.com for updates throughout the day.
[I][FONT=Arial]Copyright 2008 by cbs46.com.

caddis

CBS46 updated their website at noon.

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Delta: Report On Failed Merger Talks False

POSTED: 9:52 am EST February 28, 2008
UPDATED: 12:21 pm EST February 28, 2008
[NEWSVINE: Delta: Report On Failed Merger Talks False]

ATLANTA -- Delta Airlines says a report on failed merger talks with
Northwest Airlines is false.



Richard Anderson has been a proponet of mergers since he acquired the Golden Share of CAL stock for NWA. I am not saying I want this to happen but I think the whells are ginding that way. If the two groups can not get a long an arbitraitor will decide the list.

tomgoodman

If the pilot seniority list stalemate does kill the merger:

Q: Why didn't Anderson, with his experience running both airlines, know that this would happen?

A: Maybe he did know. He gets the pesky creditors off his back, blames the pilots, and proceeds without a merger he might not have wanted anyway.

Fishfreighter

We may have a winner here, folks!

Or, it may have all been a smokescreen to hide the deal he's REALLY trying to do. Let's face it, the lion's share of the time, NO ONE hears about a merger until its a done deal.

rvr350

Who knows? Maybe they've been working with UAL under the table for months...

atpcliff

Hi!

I could easily see this scenario:

The powers that be prefer to have the pilots come to an agreement before the merger is announced.

They pilots are having a very difficult time agreeing.

The powers that be get tired of waiting, announce the merger, and let the seniority problem go to the arbitor.

If I was at either NWA or DAL, I would hope an agreement could be worked out, as I believe more pilots would agree with it, than if an arbitration were imposed.

Of course, like other posters said, if it goes to arbitration there is only the one, non-airline guy to blame if you're upset with the end result.

cliff
YIP

PS-I hope that no matter what happens, the employees of both NWA and DAL end up in a good position. God bless you!

Lighteningspeed

Money will make it happen. I think the merger is still possible. NWA and DAL will proceed even without consensus from senior pilots from both sides if the number crunchers advise the management to proceed and if the merger will net CEOs of both companies millions. Don't know if the merger would be a good thing for pilots at NWA, DAL or for that for the regional pilots.

Oldfreightdawg

Delta Disbands Outside Advisers on Northwest Merger, People Say

By Mary Jane Credeur and Mary Schlangenstein

March 1 (Bloomberg) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. disbanded the outside advisers hired to guide a merger with Northwest Airlines Corp. after the carriers' pilots couldn't agree on how to mesh seniority lists, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Delta told its dozens of external aides they won't be needed unless the pilots reach an accord, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The advisers had been on 24-hour call last week because the airlines thought a pilot agreement and completion of the merger were imminent, one of the people said.

Merger planners at the two carriers suspended daily phone meetings a week ago, after the pilots broke off seniority talks, the people said. A Delta-Northwest tie-up would form the world's largest airline, overtaking AMR Corp.'s American Airlines.

``There's an aura of doubt around this deal now, a creeping malaise,'' said Stuart Klaskin of KKC Aviation Consulting Inc. in Miami, who has worked on past airline mergers.

Delta must have a deal that protects pilots' seniority, Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian said. ``If we can't get those assurances, we won't'' pursue a merger, he told reporters yesterday in Seattle.

Spokeswomen for Delta and Eagan, Minnesota-based Northwest declined to comment on the merger advisers. Delta pilots spokeswoman Kelly Regus declined to comment, and Matt Coons, a spokesman for the Northwest pilots' union, didn't return calls.

Delta, the third-biggest U.S. airline by traffic, and No. 5 Northwest have dropped more than 21 percent since Feb. 20 in New York trading on concern that a merger is in jeopardy. Delta fell 74 cents, or 5.3 percent, to $13.35 yesterday, while Northwest slid 57 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $13.43.

Pivotal Issue

Seniority is one of the pivotal merger issues left for the airlines, which have agreed that the combined carrier will keep the Delta name, be based at its Atlanta headquarters, and be run by Delta Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson, people familiar with the discussions have said.

The disbanding of Delta's advisers may be part of a strategy to pressure pilots by suggesting a merger might not happen, said Roger King, a debt analyst at CreditSights Inc. in New York. Management has agreed to give the pilots a pay package and equity stake valued at $2 billion, people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.
`Biggest Bluff'

``The biggest bluff to call is to go ahead and do a definitive merger and deal with the seniority list later,'' King said. ``Walking away and taking the money off the table is the next best thing.''

Seniority determines job provisions ranging from compensation to the planes pilots fly. Hundreds of Delta pilots took early retirement before the carrier's 2005 bankruptcy filing to get lump-sum pension payouts, leaving Delta with a less-senior pilot workforce.

Leaders of Northwest's chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association ended a two-day meeting on Feb. 22 without voting on a report on ``cooperative merger exploration,'' according to the union's Web site. No new talks have been scheduled, four people familiar with the matter said earlier this week.

Northwest union negotiators want their 5,000 pilots' seniority to be based on hire date, while Delta's ALPA chiefs want consideration of the plane sizes and routes now flown by that airline's 7,000 pilots. ALPA is the only major unionized group at Delta.

To contact the reporters on this story: Mary Jane Credeur in Atlanta at [email protected] ; Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at [email protected] .

Last Updated: March 1, 2008 00:49 EST

2 Billion??? Is that BILLION with a "B". That's a lot of jack just to agree on seniority, I wonder how much of that is PAY and how much is Equity?

sully606

About 50/50 depending on what the stock is worth on deal consumation.

Oldfreightdawg

WOW. That leaves 1 billion for raises??? Now, I don't have numbers for DAL or NWA, but I know that payroll at AA is about 1.2 billion for about 9200 pilots(pay checks only). A combined DAL NWA would be close to AA considering their pay rates are somewhat below AA's (round numbers). That would be like a 40 to 50% pay hike??? That's pretty large not to come to an agreement on seniority.

Then again it's not my seniority that will be affected. Good luck.