S.L. workers are safe in merger, Delta says

But after the meetings, some workers were still worried, including Bruce Church, a ramp worker at the Salt Lake airport who is helping organize employees. He's collecting signatures for a petition for an election to join the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, AFL-CIO.

"It was a love-fest, happy talk — it always is," Church said. "I'm a little concerned in one of the worst depressions in American history, with two airlines that are losing money to become one airline that is losing money. I think there is a lot of happy talk."

Delta is not giving enough details about seniority or what it's they're going to do in cities where there is job duplication between Northwest and Delta, Church said.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has been particularly interested in seeing the merger increase Salt Lake City's international reach for Utah companies that are increasingly doing more business abroad, said Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. Huntsman is recovering from shoulder surgery and did not attend the meeting Friday with the Delta officials.

Northwest operates a hub in Tokyo and has routes to other cities in Japan, as well as to Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore and Taiwan.

In June, Delta is beginning a nonstop flight between Salt Lake City and Paris. The popularity of that flight will influence whether other international flights will come into Salt Lake City.

"I think we'll have a better understanding of these international routes once we have (begun) that one," Bastian said.

High fuel costs have been cited as a catalyst for the merger and ultimately will determine the number of Delta flights in and out of Salt Lake City, Anderson said.

"With fuel prices where they are," he said, "that does have an effect on capacity over the long term."

Delta and Northwest each have fuel networks, and a merger between the companies will help the proposed new airline get the best fuel prices, Bastian said.

Also, the proposed new airline will have $7 billion at the end of the year in liquidity. The proposed new airline will be much better positioned to "weather the storm" of rising fuel costs than other airlines, and be better positioned "if others fail," Bastian said.

Delta has reduced its fleet by about 75 airplanes in the past year, cutting capacity in response to rising fuel costs, Anderson said. The airline will continue to make those capacity adjustments as fuel prices dictate, while the merger awaits approval and during an anticipated yearlong year-long transition phase, he said.

How that affects consumers really is dictated by the market, Anderson said.

"Over the long run, the price of an airline ticket — just like filling up your car with gas or paying your home utility bill — has to reflect the full cost of fueling," he said.

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