Posted on: Friday, August 23, 2002
Airline alliance reported
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Delta Air Lines will join Continental and Northwest in a broad new partnership aimed at protecting revenue from a proposed rival alliance, several newspapers reported late yesterday.
The deal would expand a partnership between No. 4 carrier Northwest and No. 5 Continental by bringing Atlanta-based Delta, the nation's third-largest airline, into the mix.
Houston-based Continental and Northwest, based in Eagan, Minn., sell seats on each other's flights, offer frequent-flier mileage benefits and coordinate schedules under a broad "code-share" agreement. The term comes from the practice of putting an airline's two-letter industry code onto another's flights.
The new partnership would let Delta passengers accrue mileage on the other airlines, access all three airport club rooms and move more easily among all three carriers for flights.
Officials at all three companies would not comment last night about the reports on the Web sites of USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and other newspapers.
Under terms of the 10-year partnership, which could be announced as soon as today, Northwest and Continental would join the SkyTeam alliance, led by Delta and Air France. That could spell the end of the Wings alliance, which Continental and Northwest have formed with Dutch national carrier KLM.
Continental and Northwest's existing code-share relationships with foreign partners would remain in place, USA Today reported.
The partnership comes in response to a code-share relationship between United Airlines and US Airways that was announced last month.
Leo F. Mullin, Delta's chairman and chief executive, has said the United-US Airways alliance would pose a direct assault on Delta's revenue because of its heavy concentration on the East Coast, where US Airways' flights are concentrated.
Yesterday, the Justice Department said it would need another 30 days to review the proposal.
A code-share agreement involving Delta and Northwest would require approval of their pilots, who have contract language detailing how much flying can be done with "permitted aircraft."
