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Delta-Northwest Merger Gets Justice Department Approval

US regulators have approved the merger of Delta and Northwest, which means the two are one step closer to a deal. A court case that could still block the tie-up goes to trial November 5.

The Department of Justice released a statement:

The proposed merger between Delta and Northwest is likely to produce substantial and credible efficiencies that will benefit US consumers and is not likely to substantially lessen competition.

The two airlines currently compete with a number of other legacy and low cost airlines in the provision of scheduled air passenger service on the vast majority of nonstop and connecting routes where they compete with each other. In addition, the merger likely will result in efficiencies such as cost savings in airport operations, information technology, supply chain economics and fleet optimization that will benefit consumers.

Consumers are also likely to benefit from improved service made possible by combining under single ownership the complementary aspects of the airlines’ networks.

Well... We'll see about that!

Related Stories:
· DOJ Statement on the Merger [Official Site]
· Justice Approves Delta Merger [AP, via Google]