Detroit Free Press
After 84 years, the Northwest Airlines brand will fade into history sometime during the first three months of 2010.
That's when the airline's Web site, www.nwa.com, will stop accepting reservations and redirect people to Delta Air Lines' Web site, www.delta.com. The Northwest name will disappear from boarding passes, airport monitors and airplanes.
That's when the airline's Web site, www.nwa.com, will stop accepting reservations and redirect people to Delta Air Lines' Web site, www.delta.com. The Northwest name will disappear from boarding passes, airport monitors and airplanes.
The changes will occur because the Federal Aviation Administration gave Northwest and Delta the green light on Thursday to finish integrating their operations and approved their request to fly under a single operating certificate. Though the carriers announced plans to merge in April 2008, until now they have had to maintain separate flight operations.
"For the first time, pre-merger Northwest operations will be combined into Delta's operations," Stephen Gorman, Delta's executive vice president and chief operating officer, told Delta employees in a memo Thursday.
The merger creates the world's largest airline, carrying more than 170 million passengers a year to 368 destinations around the globe.
Delta already took a number of steps to integrate its operations with Northwest in 2009. Delta signs replaced Northwest ones at all but one of the 240 airports where both carriers operate, including Detroit Metro Airport.
Nearly 200 of Northwest's 260 mainline planes were repainted in Delta's colors. And in October, Northwest customers' frequent flier miles were transferred to Delta's SkyMiles reward program.
Merging two major carriers is no easy feat. To get the single operating certificate, teams of Delta and Northwest employees had to complete more than 10,000 individual tasks and integrate 385 manuals and 100 operating specifications, programs and processes.
But the combined airlines' employees aren't celebrating yet. More work lies ahead, including completing critical information technology projects, creating a single dispatch system and resolving labor representation issues for flight attendants and ground workers.
"The single operating certificate is an important milestone," Delta spokesman Kent Landers said. "But there is still a lot to be done."
"For the first time, pre-merger Northwest operations will be combined into Delta's operations," Stephen Gorman, Delta's executive vice president and chief operating officer, told Delta employees in a memo Thursday.
The merger creates the world's largest airline, carrying more than 170 million passengers a year to 368 destinations around the globe.
Delta already took a number of steps to integrate its operations with Northwest in 2009. Delta signs replaced Northwest ones at all but one of the 240 airports where both carriers operate, including Detroit Metro Airport.
Nearly 200 of Northwest's 260 mainline planes were repainted in Delta's colors. And in October, Northwest customers' frequent flier miles were transferred to Delta's SkyMiles reward program.
Merging two major carriers is no easy feat. To get the single operating certificate, teams of Delta and Northwest employees had to complete more than 10,000 individual tasks and integrate 385 manuals and 100 operating specifications, programs and processes.
But the combined airlines' employees aren't celebrating yet. More work lies ahead, including completing critical information technology projects, creating a single dispatch system and resolving labor representation issues for flight attendants and ground workers.
"The single operating certificate is an important milestone," Delta spokesman Kent Landers said. "But there is still a lot to be done."
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