Delta-Northwest merger under scrutiny

A subcommittee of the US House of Representatives is holding a hearing to discuss the impact on employees of Delta Air LinesÔÇÖ proposed acquisition of Northwest Airlines. A number of employee representatives have expressed concern about the ability of the combined airline to meet pension obligations, so a hearing has been arranged in Washington today before the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee.┬á┬á Associated Press reports that among the witnesses will be Robert Roach, general vice president of the International Association of Machinists; Patricia Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants; and Rob Kight, vice president for compensation, benefits, and services at Delta Air Lines. Delta and Northwest agreed to the $5 billion merger on 14 April, which, if successful, will create the world's largest passenger carrier. Under the proposed deal Northwest shareholders would receive 1.25 Delta shares for each of their Northwest shares. ┬á┬á  In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Delta chief executive Richard Anderson said Northwest would be run as a subsidiary for 18 months after the merger is completed, but that it intends to fold the Egan, Minnesota carrier's operations into Delta "as quickly as we can." ┬á┬á Delta intends to file for a single operating certificate with the Federal Aviation Administration by the end of August, he said. ┬á┬á A federal lawsuit filed by a group of passengers seeking to block the merger is scheduled for trial in November in San Francisco. ┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *