Delta sets conditions on possible deal

Delta Air Lines Inc., in talks to combine with Northwest Airlines Corp., said Tuesday that several conditions must be met before it agrees to a merger, and no potential transaction qualifies “to date.”

The Delta name and Atlanta headquarters must be preserved, and workers’ seniority and pensions must be protected, Chief Executive Richard Anderson and Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian told employees. Any deal must also strengthen Delta’s network, speed international expansion plans and create more career options for workers, they said.

“To date, we have not arrived at a potential transaction that meets all of our principles,” Anderson and Bastian wrote in a memo to employees. “We have a strong stand-alone plan. We will maintain our attention on executing that plan while we continue to look at strategic alternatives.”

Delta, the third-largest U.S. airline, and No. 5 Northwest, based in Eagan, Minn., are in merger discussions that would create the world’s biggest carrier, surpassing AMR Corp.’s American Airlines.

Pilots at Delta and Northwest are trying to find a compromise over union seniority, people familiar with those talks said last week.

Delta “will not complete a transaction” unless all of its conditions are met, Anderson and Bastian said.