In the five-year business plan that Northwest filed during its bankruptcy case, it estimated that its international flying would increase an average of 4.3 percent a year through 2010. Meanwhile, it forecast that its domestic flying would decline by an average of 2.7 percent a year.

For 2006, Delta reported that North American operations accounted for 75 percent of passenger revenue while international flying provided about 24 percent.

"Historically, Delta was a very strong domestic airline," said incoming CEO Anderson, who described Delta's Atlanta hub as the "most successful" in the world.

But in an interview, Anderson characterized Delta as "underdeveloped internationally" and said he wants to use Delta's brand and domestic network to support an international expansion.

"We have some (Boeing) 777s on order that will help us serve Asia, particularly China and the Middle East," Anderson said.

Delta and Northwest are both members of the international SkyTeam alliance, which allows for business cooperation and joint marketing of flights.