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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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Delta-Northwest Merger Close to Takeoff

Boards meet tomorrow to vote on plans that would create world's largest airline

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(Newser) – Directors at Delta and Northwest meeting tomorrow could announce a marriage of the two airlines by day’s end if a crucial deal with the airlines’ 11,000 unionized pilots can be reached, reports the Wall Street Journal. The resulting company would be the largest airline in the world, and would almost certainly face tough scrutiny from regulators.

Air Line Pilot Association negotiators are hammering out a “conceptual” plan to blend the two groups, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, addressing issues of seniority, equity, and pay. Pilots are Delta’s only unionized employees. The deal is expected to take the form of a share exchange at little or no premium. The resulting airline would keep the Delta name.

Northwest Airlines Flight 97 arrives at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., in this July 2, 2007 file photo. Executives at the nation's oldest airlines believe that size matters; that unless you have lots of planes flying at convenient times to many different cities, travelers won't remember you the...
Northwest Airlines Flight 97 arrives at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., in this July 2, 2007 file photo. Executives at the nation's oldest airlines believe that size matters; that...   (Associated Press)
A Northwest Airlines jet taxis towards a gate at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich., in this Aug. 10, 2006, file photo. Northwest Airlines Corp. chief Doug Steenland sent an internal memo to employees on Friday, Jan. 11, 2008, indicating his carrier could benefit from a merger _ if...
A Northwest Airlines jet taxis towards a gate at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, Mich., in this Aug. 10, 2006, file photo. Northwest Airlines Corp. chief Doug Steenland sent an internal memo...   (Associated Press)
Delta Air Lines jets line up on the tarmac at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Ga., in this Nov. 22, 2006 file photo. Executives at the nation's oldest airlines believe that size matters; that unless you have lots of planes flying at convenient times to many different cities,...
Delta Air Lines jets line up on the tarmac at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta, Ga., in this Nov. 22, 2006 file photo. Executives at the nation's oldest airlines believe that...   (Associated Press)
A Delta Air Lines jet passes a line of other aircraft waiting to take off on the tarmac at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta in this Nov. 10, 2005 file photo.
A Delta Air Lines jet passes a line of other aircraft waiting to take off on the tarmac at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta in this Nov. 10, 2005 file photo.   (Associated Press)
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