Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines have announced plans to merge.
Officials from both airlines say the new airline would keep a strong presence in Minnesota, a hub for years for Northwest.
“The commitment starts with maintaining the hub and creating a global network that will allow the hub to thrive and grow,” says Doug Steenland, chief executive officer for Northwest.
The new company, which would be called Delta, would be led by Delta’s current CEO, Richard Anderson. It would be based in Atlanta, Ga., but still have executive offices in the Twin Cities. Currently, Northwest has about 11,500 employees in Minnesota, about 1,050 of whom are at the Eagan headquarters.
If the Northwest headquarters in Minnesota closes, the agreement with the Metropolitan Airports Commission stipulates that Delta would have to immediately pay off $245M in bond debt.
However, Anderson said, “We think we can fulfill the spirit of those [MAC] covenants,” and that meetings with the MAC over the next 18 months to renegotiate Northwest’s agreement are likely.
The regulatory review of the merger is expected to take up to eight months; if approved, Delta and Northwest would operate separately for a year during the transition planning.
