Delta Northwest fly as merged airline across Atlantic

Northwest and Delta airlines have won anti-trust immunity to coordinate flight schedules across the Atlantic. The federal government granted preliminary approval for the domestic airlines to team up with Air-France-KLM and two other foreign carriers in the so-called SkyTeam Alliance so they can operate as one airline across the Atlantic.

The SkyTeam carriers remain subject to anti-trust laws for non-trans-Atlantic flights.

A final ruling on the immunity is due April 30^th. In the meantime, Northwest and Delta will reap the benefits of a merger at least for Atlantic flights without actually closing a deal. Merger talks remain tied up with pilots’ seniority issues.