From: Star & Tribune

It’s a done deal: Delta owns Northwest

Company officials signed merger papers within hours of a Justice Department OK.

The setting sun provides a dramatic backdrop to a Northwest Airlines jet as it soars into the clouds during takeoff from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Finally, it’s official: Northwest Airlines is Delta’s.

More than eight decades after it was founded, Minnesota’s airline giant became part of Delta Air Lines on Wednesday. Hours after federal regulators cleared the merger for takeoff, the companies consummated the deal creating the world’s largest airline. …

On Wednesday, the IAM’s Robert Roach, general vice president, said federal approval of the merger came as “no surprise” after “eight years of disastrous economic decisions by the Bush administration.”

The merger connects Northwest’s network in Asia with Delta’s strength in Europe and growing presence in Africa and Latin America.

The carrier will maintain Northwest’s domestic hubs in the Twin Cities, Detroit and Memphis as well as Delta’s hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York and Salt Lake City.

“The merger makes even more sense as we face an economic recession because we can capture $2 billion of benefits annually that neither airline could accomplish alone,” Anderson and Bastian said in a memo Wednesday to employees.

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