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Category: Northwest News
Date: 11 Jan 2006
Time: 23:47:45 -0500
Remote Name: 66.91.94.61
U.S. Transport Secy. Eyes Delta-Northwest Combo Greg Levine, 01.10.06, 5:34 PM ET Was Norman Mineta using his "inside voice"? The U.S. transportation secretary addressed a throng of business leaders in Shanghai on Tuesday, where he mused about the future of the troubled American air sector. According to media reports, the chief of America's planes, trains and the roads used by automobiles opined that the latest generation of industry revamping could lead to a merger between Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein's Delta Air Lines (otc: DALR - news - people ) and CEO Douglas Steenland's Northwest Airlines (otc: NWACQ - news - people ). "I sometimes wonder whether or not...Delta and Northwest will come out as a merged carrier," Mineta was quoted as saying. He added that he was just "thinking out loud." Respectively the No. 3 and No. 4 U.S. carriers, the firms both filed for Chapter 11 protection on Sept. 14. Spokesmen for the airlines demurred from commenting on Mineta's merger remarks. Instead, reports say, each firm maintained that it is focused only on restructuring. In 2005, bankrupt US Airways (nyse: LCC - news - people ) merged with America West Airlines, seeking to reshape itself, upon emergence, into a discount carrier along the lines of ever-profitable Southwest Airlines (nyse: LUV - news - people ). In more audible thinking, Mineta also said he expected United parent UAL (otc: UALAQ - news - people ) and Aloha Airlines to emerge from bankruptcy protection in February.