At Hand: Delta + NWA

Delta, Northwest near announcement
By HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer

Delta and Northwest could announce a combination as early as Tuesday that
would create the world's biggest airline, but pilot contract issues still
loomed and there was no guarantee the deal would move ahead, three people
familiar with the talks said Sunday.
The people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of
the situation, said officials were mobilizing for an announcement provided
the boards of the two companies give final approval to a deal.
The boards of both companies have been having ongoing merger-related
conversations. They could meet Monday to discuss moving ahead with a deal, a
person familiar with the talks said.
It was increasingly likely the two airlines would proceed without a
prearranged seniority integration agreement between their pilots unions, so
the main issue that remained was whether Delta pilots were willing to make
changes to their contract to give Delta more flexibility after a combination,
one of the people said.
Delta may be willing to give incentives to Delta pilots to make changes to
their contract, another person familiar with the talks said.