Pilots? Talks Apparently Fail in a Northwest-Delta Hookup
Pilots at Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines appear to have given up efforts to combine their seniority lists, which was considered essential to the two carriers? hopes for a merger without crippling rancor. Both carriers may soon announce cutbacks in service instead, as they adjust to $100-a-barrel oil and an expected slowdown in business travel. Lee Moak, chairman of the Delta chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a letter to the carrier?s 6,300 pilots on Monday that seniority talks with Northwest?s 4,500 pilots ? he did not name Northwest, but others have confirmed that the two sides were in negotiations ? had broken off.
See "Pilots? Talks Apparently Fail in a Northwest-Delta Hookup", Jeff Bailey, The New York Times, March 17, 2008