Northwest Airlines No More: Delta Dropping Northwest Name After FAA Grants Permission To Work As One

ATLANTA — Delta Air lines Inc. has received government permission to operate its namesake service and its Northwest Airlines subsidiary as a single carrier, a Delta executive said Thursday.

The single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration allows Delta to put its code on Northwest flights and phase out the Northwest name. That process will be complete in the first quarter of 2010. For now, travelers won't notice anything different.

Delta, based in Atlanta, acquired Northwest for $2.8 billion in stock in October 2008 to become the world's biggest airline.

Delta and Northwest are now one airline, meaning that for the first time pre-merger Northwest operations will be combined into Delta's operations, Chief Operating Officer Stephen E. Gorman said in an internal memo.

Labor issues remain, however. While pilots and some smaller work groups from both carriers are operating under joint contracts and seniority lists, flight attendants and gate and reservation agents and ramp workers have not resolved representation issues. Pre-merger Northwest was heavily unionized, while pre-merger Delta was not – its pilots were its only major work group to be in a union.

Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of pre-merger Northwest aircraft have already been painted over with the Delta livery. Employees of both carriers are wearing the same uniforms, and the two carriers frequent-flier programs have already been combined under the Delta SkyMiles brand.

But operationally, the two carriers have been kept separate while Delta sought the FAA certificate.

Delta plans to operate Northwest-coded flights until all seats and fares are consolidated in Delta's reservations system. Once that occurs, it will remove the distinction for passengers of purchasing on Delta or Northwest, and the Northwest Web site will be folded into Delta's.

Still unresolved for Delta is its effort to lure Japan Airlines Corp. away from its alliance with American Airlines and into Delta's SkyTeam alliance. There's been no word on a decision by JAL, which is said to be teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.

Delta also is dealing with the aftermath of a failed terrorist attack on a Northwest flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas.

Comments

[laborgrunt]

02:57 PM on 01/02/2010

Im not a financial guru but doesnt $2.8 billion seem rather inexpensive for a major airline? Delta got a deal I guess.

[AbeMartin]

09:43 AM on 01/02/2010

And what difference will dropping the name make? Northwest has a lamentable record of customer relations. Last year, Mrs. Martin and I arrived in the Philadelphia International Airport to catch a flight to a business meeting. We were more than two hours early. The NW check-in area was clogged with hundreds and hundreds of people who were in a state of total confusion and agitation because the NW flight had been canceled. The weather across the country was not an issue. NW personnel would not provide any information about the delay, or when we might expect to get on another flight. Instead, the pinheads passed out little vouchers entitling "the bearer to X.X worth of credit at food services in the airport. We realized that there would be a run on the rooms surrounding the airport and ended up having to take a cab ($30) into Center City, booking a room at the rack rate ($330.00) at the University Hilton because the convention center had a big event and everything else was booked. Meals and cab fare back to PHL + wasted staff time for the canceled meeting and our little Northwestern adventure cost us between $3,000 and $4,000.

For our "inconvenience" they gave each of us a $100 ticket voucher against a "future flight." You can figure out where we suggested they shove those.

Delta can call their new BBF's whatever they want. They are still rat t*urds floating in a punch bowl.

[manelady]

10:24 AM on 01/02/2010

Delta is not much better. Their insistence at stopping in Atlanta for every flight is wasteful, inconvenient and time consuming.
Whoever flies nonstop gets my business.

[EndTheEcho]

01:41 PM on 01/02/2010

Do you not grasp the hub and spoke system?

Now granted, I am pretty spoiled, I live in Minneapolis a Northwest (Delta) hub, so I get more direct flights than the average city, but most airline carriers have such hub and spoke systems.

[EndTheEcho]

01:56 PM on 01/02/2010

Airline have much issues, but your story has me wondering.

You talk about arriving at PHL how did you get to PHL? Was it a connecting flight - international maybe? Or was PHL your originating airport? Because you mentioned check in area which makes it seem like your originating airport.

If the flight cancellation was not weather related, if it was equipment/staff issues, why would there be a run on hotel rooms near the airport? It is one thing if a flight or two are canceled, that won't cause a run on rooms, but weather shut down would.

I am surprised that the only room rate you could get was $330, you may want to try some on-line comparison shopping before booking at that rate.

My recommendation as someone that lives in a hub city (Minneapolis) you may want to consider other airlines if you are flying in or out of PHL. USAir or Southwest would be the best bets. I have had equipment with mechanical problems twice this year in Minneapolis. Because it is their hub, they can find other equipment. That is just using some common sense.

[TRUTHDOG]

01:38 AM on 01/02/2010

So long Northwest. You WERE a great place to work while it lasted. In my case until 10/6/01 at the Atlanta DC-9 overhaul facility. I wonder,when all is said and done,how many of the folks I worked with will still be employed in this merged (?) company, if ANY. I wonder if in 20 years there'll be ANY Union companies left in the U.S,A.. They're dropping like flies. That's great news for the investment class, and bad news for EVERYONE else, including the flying public. When I found a maintenance problem with the airplane I didn't have to fear intimidation and retaliation by management for reporting it because the Union had my back covered. Not so at the non-Union repair shops I've worked at,inclding the one I was fired from for refusing to do shoddy workmanship to save money.

[TRUTHDOG]

03:03 AM on 01/02/2010

If I may add.......... Northwest's top management had a history of not having the greatest rapport or respect for their workers. Intimidation was still a fairly often used tool there. I never had that problem when I worked for TWA as a flightline mechanic. As long as the flights were on time and SAFE ,TWA gave us a VERY long leash as to how WE did things. Improvised solutions to problems were not stifled over fear of upper management backlash. At NWA problems often went unresolved due to a lack of ........ confidence in one's superiors appeoval and the resulting RETRIBUTION.The result is stalemate. At TWA some days it was actually FUN to go to work. This happened less often at NWA mainly due to their dictatorial management style handed down from upper management. Most of lower management did their best to keep things upbeat. But they could only do so much without having to fear for their own jobs.

[hulagirrrl]

06:03 AM on 01/05/2010

Well, neither does Delta, so there goes the neighborhood.

and, incidentally this just in...

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9477443

[CologneCitizen]

08:49 AM on 01/02/2010

I never will understand why the American worker allows the unions to be demonized. It is either s.tupidity or the belief to become a millionaire from working.

All countries comparable to the USA have strong labor unions like Germany, France or Japan. And all these countries still manufacture things in their home ground. In the USA it is enough to tell the workers they are stronger without unions and less government is better. But when you look across the pond, you see how much more we have been proftiting from productivity growth in the last 30 years than you. I won't mention the countless benefits we have in Germany, no need to rub it in. But I can tell you our unions played a vital part in the fact the "normal worker" is covered as good as possible.

As I don't think our workforce is any better than yours, it must have to do with an organised effort to spread the wealth to the people at the point where the wealth is generated. Why even wait for some "trickling down' ? Why wait for crumbs when you are entitled to a piece of the cake ?

[laborgrunt]

03:00 PM on 01/02/2010

Unions are demonized in America, and the avg. American accepts it because capitalism is our true religion here. The corporate class has done a darn good job at portraying labor in a bad light.
Without unions the middle class is dead.

[dsmyre]

11:31 PM on 01/01/2010

Good-bye, red tails.

[jsj20002]

10:16 PM on 01/01/2010

In my 32 years as a federal employee, I travelled overseas quite often. During the 60s and 70s, NWA offered very low fares to military families. 1972, my wife, infant son and our dog flew from Detroit to Seoul, Korea for $500 roundtrip when the real fare was about four times that much. Much later, I took quite a few trips from Washington, DC to Tokyo and every time NWA upgraded my government ticket to at least business class at no charge to the government. It was NWA policy and that policy was never replicated by either Delta or United. The head of Delta used to be the head of NWA; I only hope that he replicates the policies that made me a loyal NWA customer. So far, the transition from NWA to Delta has been smooth. Last night (New Year's Eve) when I flew into Detroit from Europe, Delta opened their SkyClub to all active duty military and their families. I don't know if United or American or Continental followed suit at their hubs, but that was a great move on Delta's part. I now have a choice of flying overseas from either Detroit or Chicago. The former NWA and now Delta facilities in Detroit are world class. United's facilities in Chicago are third world. I will miss NWA, but I hope that Delta can replicate its service to the military and federal employee traveller.

[BikeFreak]

09:44 PM on 01/01/2010

After Northwest left me waiting in a plane without air conditioning on a runway for 3 hours a few summers ago, I say the sooner Northwest Airlines is forgotten, the better.

[RuthlessDictator]

08:54 PM on 01/01/2010

I remember my first plane trip in 1967. TWA Boeing 707 to Miami, Fl. The pilot gave each of us kids wings to pin on our chest and they even let us see the cockpit!

Wow, that was really neat-o!!!

Can I get my wings today?

[hulagirrrl]

06:12 AM on 01/05/2010

Yes, some still do that. I flew out of Norfolk Va a few years ago, and my son was given a real special treatment by the pilot. He showed him the cockpit and even let him say something to me over the speaker. It was a special treat for him that he holds dearly in his memory. The flight attendant gave him the wings. My son still has the wings today, and now a High Schooler is dreaming of working with planes. The pilot back then was a former Navy man.

[jan4insight]

07:46 PM on 01/01/2010

Reading these comments makes me so glad of my decision, some years ago, to never set foot on a commercial airline again.

[Stayalert]

07:57 PM on 01/02/2010

Well you must be filthy rich, uber wealthy to not fly commercial. Whats up?
How did you get away with not having to fly commercial. People want to know.

[jan4insight]

10:44 PM on 01/02/2010

Hahahahahah - me, filthy rich? I wish! No, I just don't fly, period. There is no place I want to need to go to enough to put myself through that.

[enbeeTDOT]

06:23 PM on 01/01/2010

When I flew Delta from Buffalo to San Francisco, everything was great. Service was good, price was right, and the flights left and arrived on time (very important since I had a tight connection in Atlanta), so I'm not sure why everybody is getting on Delta's case.

Now United, with it's 20 year old planes, and the inability to provide even pretzels on a 4.5 hour flight or Air Canada, with its incompetent ground staff and inedible food, there's something to talk about *shudder*

[HappyBalance]

05:32 PM on 01/01/2010

I grew up in Cincinnati. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport is a fiefdom of Delta Airlines. Delta has run off all the low cost carriers. This is why if you live in Cincinnati and you want to fly often you will drive to Columbus, OH or Indianapolis, IN or Louisville, KY. Even with the 2 hour drive it is cheaper to fly out of these cities then to fly out of Cincy. Southwest flies out of all three. I once had an early Southwest flight out of Indy. The hotel clerk asked me what brought me to Indianapolis. I said Southwest. She checked a box on her form.

[conscioushope]

05:06 PM on 01/01/2010

FLY SOUTHWEST AIRLINES.

From Herb Keller!

[Stayalert]

08:01 PM on 01/02/2010

The employees are always treated WELL very Well by Southwest Airlines. If I had known that then in the 70s... but instead other than Continental, all other management at the other carriers treat their employees like $^%&*@&#)*. Giving themselves BONUSES yr after yr, and reducing the emps $.

But SW is a standout corp in all respects. Thanks Herb Kelliher!

[kyeshinka]

04:17 PM on 01/01/2010

Another one gone, thank God. Northwest was terrible. I've had better service on Aeroflot. United, which ubruptly cancels its flights for no reason other than there are just too few people on the plane, and then don't bother to reroute you or do anything at all to help, is another one that I'd be happy to see go bankrupt and disappear from our collective memory.

[maritimer]

04:46 PM on 01/01/2010

Agreed on all counts, especially re: United.

United got me late to Dulles so I missed my connecting flight by 10 minutes and I was told by the indifferent gate agent to fend for myself. No hotel voucher, nothing. It was late at night.

I ended up taking a rental car home.

[Bushdepression]

03:58 PM on 01/01/2010

Are they going to fire more Americans and "maintain" their aircraft in Indonesia the way Northwest did?
American "maintains" its aircraft in El Salvador.

[TheArtisan]

03:14 PM on 01/01/2010

Ahh, I understand now. Northwest was unionized, which was why all my NWA flights were always impeccable with no lost baggage. I could never say the same for my Delta flights.

We'll miss you NWA!

[rbchilds]

03:53 PM on 01/01/2010

Over years I've had the exact opposite experience. I've departed Denver for Seattle on Northwest and my luggage arrived in Detroit. Never happened on Delta.

[Stayalert]

08:04 PM on 01/02/2010

As soon as you numnuts who are ignorant of unionization and how it has helped the Middle class to grow and the US to flourish, when the unions are gone, you will start losing the things you take for granted, whether you work for a corp, a small comp, or consult. You indeed lose Hour caps, vacation time, sick time, pensions, pay raises, job security, job safety and so forth. And do not for one second think that a corp/company that offers these things now, won't cancel them out.. The water gets hotter the longer you are in it.. said the frog.

[SwingingFromCenter]

02:40 PM on 01/01/2010

Well, as I refuse to fly Delta, I guess I'll be selling my airline miles.