Leaders of the Northwest Airlines pilots union on Thursday voted unanimously in favor of a resolution to explore a potential airline merger. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) represents pilots at Delta Air Lines and Northwest. If a Delta-Northwest merger is proposed, the chances of a successful combination are greatly enhanced if it has the endorsement of the airlines' pilot groups. "Northwest pilots would support a proposed merger with the right partner," said Wade Blaufuss, a pilots union spokesman. Under the resolution, he said, pilots would back a merger only if four key conditions are met.
See "NWA pilots set merger conditions", Liz Fedor and Patricia Lopez, Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 17, 2008