Friday January 09 2009
Merger Mania
Late in October, Delta's proposed merger with Northwest was approved by the Department of Justice, and the airlines will enter full-blown merger mode in early 2009. The tie-up may not be fully complete until 2010, but you can expect Northwest's name and brand to be phased out in 2009. The SkyMiles and WorldPerks frequent flyer programs will be merged towards the end of this year.
Of course, there's always the possibility that the Delta/Northwest merger will spark other mergers. As a recent Reuters report predicted, "The answer is likely to be yes in an industry that clearly has excess capacity, is adding surcharges despite a retreat in fuel prices, and is facing international competitors that are expected to consolidate in the coming year."
