Merger memo could force tough decision for Delta CEO

By Charles Edwards

Atlanta, ga – Delta Air Lines is reportedly negotiating a deal with its pilots to allow the Atlanta company to merge with Northwest Airlines.

Rumored disagreements over pilot seniority have kept the merger from happening.

Neither Delta nor its pilots union is commenting on a report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The paper cites an anonymous source about the latest deal. Under the agreement, pilots would let the airlines merge first and then work with Delta on combining both companies' pilots unions.

Merger expert Dan Kolber says that may be easier said than done for Delta's CEO.

KOLBER: The problem is Richard Anderson went out on a limb by guaranteeing that the seniority of his work force would not be negatively impacted without their consent.

Anderson made his guarantee in late February in a memo to employees.

Kolber says Anderson's statement could hurt Delta's chances of pushing a merger without pilot approval despite constant pressures from rising gas prices and other factors.