I don’t think headquarters location matters to creditors at all. First and foremost should be their ability to make money on the deal. After that, I’d imagine retaining service levels in Atlanta might matter to those who are local. I’m sure that some frequencies will be cut as part of the 10% reduction in the merger, but I doubt destinations will be lost. This shouldn’t be a hang up here.

I agree that a Delta/Northwest route map looks a lot better, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best deal for those who hold the power. If the US Airways deal truly is the best deal out there monetarily, that should be the one they choose.

And in your second comment . . .

I think the creditors want Delta to postpone the disclosure statement because the deal with US Airways wouldn’t be completed by Feb 1. The next step would be for Delta to give US Airways approval to conduct due diligence. US Airways is only looking for that approval before Feb 1. It would still take more time for the deal to close.

I certainly agree that Delta should investigate all possible merger possibilities. Unfortunately, the only thing we know is that there have been talks. If there is truly an option with Northwest, then they should lay it out there so the creditors can evaluate it.

I hate to sound callous about this, because as a proud airline dork I love to speculate about fleet commonality and route maps, etc. But the reality is that from a creditor point of view, it’s going to come down to money, so that’s how we need to view this.

1) Why would the creditors ask for Delta to postpone the disclosure statement hearing until later? I mean, wouldn’t that kind of force Delta to take the merger? After all, the offer expires the 1st.

2) I think the Northwest merger deserves a good analysis. I mean, the two are distinct enough in terms of destinations, hubs, routes, etc. that would provide for a decent merger. After all, you did say “I would argue that Delta and United or Delta and Northwest make a much more attractive couple on many levels, but sometimes you just try to do the best you can with what’s available.” Now that NWA is available, why not that a look at that? I realize the talks are for post-bankruptcy merging goodness, but the deal still would help stablize the emerging company, increase stock prices, etc., don’t you think?

Also, what about the resulting destinations of the merger? I think the deal with Northwest would allow for expansion into Asia, an area of the world that only sees a limited Delta presence. Northwest would allow for Delta customers to travel to just about every major Asian city, as well as provide a hub in Tokyo. US Airways has no Asian destinations and many of their existing destinations share service with Delta already anyways. From a price standpoint, they’d be reducing competition in these markets.

Overall, I know it’s really up to the creditors. But I think Delta has the ability to get out of bankruptcy independently and recover very successfully.