Who Wins and Who Loses in Delta-Northwest Merger?

by Josh Lew on

Gadling has been closely following the merger between air travel giants Delta and Northwest Airlines. The marriage of the two carriers was recently approved by the Department of Justice. But what does this mean for the people on the ground and in the air? Aside from seeing new color schemes on the staff and aircraft, there are all those frequent flier miles Northwest patrons have been saving. Jamie recently wrote about what to do with them. Customers stand to pay higher prices when the merger takes hold. Delta will be in a more dominant position than before. That usually means higher prices.

But what about the staff of Northwest Airlines? Here in Minneapolis, strikes by Northwest employees have been commonplace over the past few years. On the positive side, the merger will mean that Delta, which has recently been more stable than Northwest, will be in control. But job cuts are probably coming. Employees may find themselves cut from the company because their position has become redundant. Northwest will most likely see job cuts at their hub in Minneapolis, while Delta’s second tier hub in Cincinnati will lose out to Northwest’s Detroit base. So the airline’s employees will be working for a more stable company, if they can survive the job cuts. Because Delta has the upper hand in the whole process, most watchers expect Northwest workers will bear the brunt of the lay-offs.

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Salvation: Northwest and Delta to drop fuel surcharges

by Grant Martin on

During that whole oil debacle this past summer, airlines were levying fees left and right to recoup some of the massive losses they were incurring to pay for jet fuel. Charges included paying for checked bags, preferred seats and worst of all, heavy fuel surcharges.

The addition of fuel charges when oil was expensive made disappointing sense to most, but what really irked many frequent flyers was the inclusion of award tickets in these fees. To most, an “award” ticket booked with miles should be as free as possible — after all, we earned these miles with our cold, hard cash and time, right?

Now, as oil has returned to normal levels, many analysts (including myself) predicted that the airlines would keep the surcharges in place just because they milked some cash out of the passenger. But to our surprise, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and many others reversed their fees and returned the fare structures to normal.

Today, Northwest and Delta followed suit. Now when booking overseas and domestic reward tickets, the $20 – >$100 fees that formerly angered so many passengers is gone. The best part of the change is that for some, I’m hearing the change is retroactive. So if you booked an award ticket in the last month or so and had to pay the fee, you can call and get your money back. This may be one of the first times ever that I have called the airlines generous.

Your mileage may vary on the return of your fees (depending on who you talk to and what your “status” is,) but it’s worth a ten minute phone call, right?

You can read the full details on Delta’s website here.

So long, Northwest. Department of Justice approves merger

by Grant Martin on

For those of you who were holding onto one last shred of hope that Delta and Northwest might not merge, you can go ahead and flush that down the toilet — the Department of Justice just approved the merger, saying:

“After a thorough, six-month investigation, during which the Division obtained extensive information from a wide range of market participants–including the companies, other airlines, corporate customers and travel agents–the Division has determined that the proposed merger between Delta and Northwest is likely to produce substantial and credible efficiencies that will benefit U.S. consumers and is not likely to substantially lessen competition.”

Not that we weren’t already heading full tilt into the merger. Just this week the two airlines integrated upgrade policies (now one can be upgraded on the other based on elite status), and the buzz about NW flight attendants getting fitted for Delta uniforms has already popped up in a few places in the underground.

So to speak, this message from the DOJ just puts the final nail in the coffin. Over the next twelve months you’ll slowly start seeing red tails disappear from the tarmac to become red white and blue, you schedules out of Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis and Cincinnati will get rejiggered and your boarding passes will suddenly carry the wrong name.

So long, Northwest Airlines. It was a fun ride while it lasted.

Which Airlines Will Cut Flights for Thanksgiving? (And Which Won’t?)

by Josh Lew on

If you’ve ever tried to fly on or around Thanksgiving, you would be inclined to agree that it is among the busiest travel times of the year. Unfortunately, this holiday season will kick off with most airlines cutting the number of flights they offer. This will lead to fuller planes, fewer options and, of course, higher fares. According to USAToday, the combined cuts will lead to an 11% overall drop from last years flights. That’s 2.5 million fewer seats than last year’s Thanksgiving season (between the 20th and 30th of November).

The biggest cutbacks come from USAirways, which will drop its service by 40% compared to last year. Delta will cut 26% of its flights. The only two major names bucking the trend are JetBlue and Southwest. JetBlue is upping its ante by 3% by the end of the month, while Southwest is planning 15 new flights for the same period. Still, these increases are quite modest when compared to the substantial cuts in the industry. The bottom line: Thanksgiving season travelers who haven’t booked their flight yet are in for higher prices and fewer options.

Frequent flyer dedication reaches new levels

by Grant Martin on

Sure, you may fly 200,000 miles a year and may have reached top tier of your airline frequent flyer program. You’ve probably got the baggage tags, System Wide Upgrades, drink certificates and commemorative pens. You may even pop your collar every time you get onto the aircraft.

But you haven’t really dedicated yourself to your favorite airline until you paint your office in their color scheme. That’s what Flyertalk user jjglaze77 did when he moved into his new office building and discovered a few scrap airline seats left over. Moving them into his office, he decided that the best companions for the seats were a dark blue wall and Delta logos. As you can see, the room looks quite authentic — and he’s not even a Delta employee.

So next time one of you gives me crap about being such a super special flyer, you had better bring evidence. I’m not taking anyone seriously until I find out that their office has been remodeled.