Northwest-Delta merger barrier cleared

ATLANTA, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Union and airline officials cleared a major barrier to a potential merger between Northwest and Delta airlines, a report said.

The two sides agreed on a "conceptual" outline to possibly combine the companies' pilot ranks, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday.

The decision about the pilots could allow Delta officials to deliberate the plan at a meeting set for Wednesday in New York.

If the airlines approve the merger, the companies would create the largest airline in the world, the newspaper said. The airlines reportedly would employ 79,000 people in their major hubs in Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis, and on other routes in Europe and Asia.

The plan's development idled in the past week while the Air Line Pilots Association formulated a method to combine member seniority lists, the report said.

Both companies' pilot unions reportedly hope the potential merger would yield stock in the new airline and reverse earlier benefit and pay decreases.