Labor talks hold up airline merger

Pilots for Delta and Northwest were still negotiating the terms of a labor contract late Wednesday, delaying plans to sign a deal that would create the world’s largest airline.

Directors for Delta Air Lines Inc., the nation’s third-largest carrier, and No. 5 Northwest Airlines Corp. had been expected to vote Wednesday on a combination if a pilot deal had been reached.

But a spokesman for Northwest’s chapter of the Air Line Pilots Assn. said the pilots from both airlines had not yet resolved how they would integrate each other’s seniority lists.

The list is crucial for pilots because it determines pay, what kind of planes they fly and vacation priorities. Delta and Northwest want the pilots to agree on a common contract before striking a merger deal.

With the snag, a merger agreement may not be reached until next week or later, analysts said.

--

-- Peter Pae