Richard Anderson, the new CEO of Delta Air Lines and former head of Northwest Airlines, on Tuesday ignited a new round of speculation about airline mergers when he said a Delta deal could have "obvious benefits" for its employees and shareholders. Anderson did not name a potential merger target for Atlanta-based Delta, but analysts long have argued that Eagan-based Northwest would make a good partner because the carriers' route networks complement each other. Delta and Northwest held preliminary merger talks while both were in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but both chose to emerge from bankruptcy this spring as standalone carriers.
See "Is NWA merger on horizon?", Liz Fedor, Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 16, 2007