Delta-Northwest Merger Approved by Shareholders

Shareholders from both [[Delta Air Lines | Delta]] and [[Northwest Airlines | Northwest]] voted on September 25 to approve the two airlines’ proposed merger. Each airline’s shareholders offered nearly unanimous support for the tie-up. So what’s next on the agenda? The airlines must receive regulatory approval from the Department of Justice, which will look at the numerous antitrust concerns surrounding this deal. There’s also a pending lawsuit, filed against the merger in an effort to kill it.

Assuming the merger passes these tests, the idea of a combined carrier could become a reality quicker than we think. With that, it’s worth wondering whether or not the resulting mega-airline will actually be good for customers. Over at the Wall Street Journal’s Middle Seat Terminal blog, it’s noted that Cincinnati, in particular, may take see a sharp drop-off in flights, and a corresponding spike in prices. The airport is a major hub for Delta, so previously competing Northwest routes will likely be dropped.

A large part of the reasoning behind this deal has always been the two airlines’ complimentary schedules which, at the level of a global route network, have little overlap. However, the Cincinnati case suggests we could see route consolidation at each airline’s hubs, which include [[Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport – MSP | Minneapolis/St. Paul]], [[Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport – DTW | Detroit]], and [[Memphis Airport – MEM | Memphis]] for Northwest, and Cincinnati, [[New York John F. Kennedy Airport – JFK | New York]], [[Atlanta Hartsfield Airport – ATL | Atlanta]], [[Los Angeles International Airport – LAX | Los Angeles]], and [[Salt Lake City Airport – SLC | Salt Lake City]] for Delta.