https://www.delta.com/marketing/maxmiles/index.jsp

20000 SPG points transfer will get 62500 delta miles

Dear ****,

As a valued Northwest Airlines customer and WorldPerks® member, I wanted you to be among the first to hear that we have announced a merger with Delta Air Lines. Subject to regulatory review, our two airlines are joining forces to create America’s premier global airline which, upon closing of the merger, will be called Delta Air Lines.

By combining Northwest and Delta, we are building a stronger, more resilient airline that will be a leader in providing customer service and value. Our combined airline will offer unprecedented access to the world, enabling you to fly to more destinations, have more flight choices and more ways than ever to earn and redeem your WorldPerks miles.

You can be assured that your WorldPerks miles and Elite program status will be unaffected by this merger. In addition, you can continue to earn miles through use of partners like WorldPerks Visa®. And once the new Delta Air Lines emerges you can look forward to being a part of the world’s largest frequent flyer program with expanded benefits.

The combined Delta Air Lines will serve more U.S. communities and connect to more worldwide destinations than any global airline. Our hubs – both Delta’s and Northwest’s – will be retained and enhanced. We will be the only U.S. airline to offer direct service from the United States to all of the world’s major business centers in Asia, Latin America, Europe, Africa and around North America.

Both airlines bring tremendous strengths to this new partnership. Our complementary service networks form an end-to-end system that is truly greater than the sum of its parts. This is a merger by addition, not subtraction, which means all of our hubs – both Northwest’s and Delta’s – will be retained. In addition, building on both airlines’ proud, decades-long history of serving small communities, we plan to enhance global connections to small towns and cities across the U.S.

All of these positive benefits of our combination mean that we can:
Offer a true global network where our customers will be able to fly to more destinations, have more schedule options and more opportunities to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles in what will become the world’s best and most comprehensive frequent flyer program.
Continue to serve our current roster of destinations and to maintain our hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam and Tokyo.
Improve our customers’ travel experience, through new products and services including enhanced self-service tools, better bag-tracking technology, more onboard services, including more meal options, new seats and refurbished cabins.
While we work to secure approval of our merger, which may take up to 6 to 8 months, it will be business-as-usual at both airlines. We will continue to operate as independent airlines and the people of Northwest will remain focused on providing you with the very best in safe, reliable and convenient air travel. At the same time, both airlines will be planning for a seamless integration of our two airlines, one that delivers to you the enhanced benefits that will earn – and retain – your preference.

As we work through this process, we will keep you informed at every step along the way. Thank you for your business and we look forward to serving you on your next Northwest flight.

Sincerely,

Bob Soukup
Managing Director, WorldPerks

Delta Air Lines Inc. is considering an offer from Northwest Airlines Corp. to revive merger discussions, this time without a combined pilot labor contract, sources close to the matter confirmed Monday.

Talks between the airlines stalled last month, after the pilots groups couldn’t agree on how to merge their seniority lists, a critical component in any combined labor contract. After a lull in talks, Northwest approached Delta last week about pursuing a merger even without a pilots’ deal in place.

The Delta board met Thursday and Friday, and on Monday sources said the airline was considering Northwest’s proposal. Executives at both airlines remain in contact, but haven’t scheduled any formal talks or meetings.

Both airlines are evaluating how their companies have changed since the initial deal was struck. With the run-up in fuel prices Delta, Northwest and other airlines recently announced cuts in passenger seating to compensate for the higher cost of fuel. Delta also announced it wanted to cut 2,000 jobs.

Representatives for each airline would not comment Monday.

If Delta does agree to renewed merger talks, the airline would have to revisit an earlier agreement they hammered out with Northwest in January and February, industry experts noted Monday. Any new deal would have to take into account the recent surge in jet fuel prices and the fact that some of the projected merger savings depended on the pilots’ union forging a unified labor agreement in advance.

The price of oil has risen more than $20 a barrel since late January, making the airlines’ biggest cost even larger. Northwest, for one, is expecting to spend almost $1 billion more on fuel this year than it had projected. In addition, four airlines have either shut down or announced plans to do so soon, citing high fuel costs.

The Northwest pilots union wouldn’t comment about the possibility of the airlines pursuing a merger without a pilots’ deal in place, and the Delta pilots union did not return calls.

Atlanta-based Delta and Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest, Michigan’s largest carrier, decided early on that they wanted to come to terms on a combined four-year pilots’ contract — including a merged seniority list — before going forward with a merger. It was a move that broke from tradition and stood to eliminate long-standing pilot labor problems seen in similar mergers, like the 2005 tie-up of US Airways and America West.

As part of the combined contract, the pilots did negotiate significant pay raises as well as an equity stake in the new company and a voting seat on its board. But the two chapters couldn’t reach consensus on a unified seniority list, which determines a pilot’s pay, work schedule and what equipment and routes he or she can fly.

Northwest pilots said they’d be willing to take the issue to an arbitrator, but Delta pilots opposed that move.

The pilots stand to lose financially should the airlines go forward without their blessing.

“[Delta and Northwest] aren’t going to keep those sweeteners for pilots with no labor contract,” said Daniel Kasper, managing director of aviation consulting at LEGC LLC in Cambridge, Mass.

Market forces getting worse
During the past few months of merger talks, Delta CEO Richard H. Anderson and Northwest CEO Doug Steenland issued separate memos to their employees, reassuring them that the airlines wouldn’t go forward with a merger that threatened their pay, seniority or job security.

But analysts say market forces would now make those promises harder to keep.

“The higher oil prices mean the pilots can’t really do anything now,” said Ray Neidl, an industry analyst with Calyon Securities in New York. “They’ve been given their chance.”

Going forward without pilot support would be harder for Delta and Northwest, Neidl said, but the possibility of a more expansive route network that could generate more money could make it worth the risk.

Neidl and others also have speculated Northwest and Delta could forgo a full-fledged merger and instead combine the two airlines under a single holding company, similar to the corporate structure at Air France-KLM. Though it is one company, both brands still operate separately. Such an arrangement would need the same Department of Justice antitrust approval as a normal merger, Neidl said.

Continental Airlines and the defunct Eastern Air Lines operated under a similar structure in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“It’s something I’ve been recommending for years,” Neidl said. “It allows many benefits of a merger without having to force a labor deal. As oil prices continue up, they’ll have to consider these options.”

News from http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080408/BIZ/804080346/1001/BIZ

in fatc, i donot think it is good for me. i dislike delta.

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From To
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New York (JFK) London/Gatwick (LGW)

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Terms & Conditions

Eligibility:
To participate in this offer, eligible members must register online at delta.com/seetheworld and fly between April 1, 2008 and May 31, 2008.

Bonus Offer:
Purchase and fly round trip on Delta-marketed/operated flights between New York, NY (JFK) or Atlanta (ATL) and London/Heathrow or Gatwick (LHR/LGW) or between Atlanta (ATL) and Shanghai, China (PVG) between April 1, 2008 and May 31, 2008 and earn triple bonus miles for BusinessElite travel (J, D or I fare classes); earn double bonus miles for Economy Class travel (Y/B/M/H/Q/K/L/U/T fare classes). Delta marketed codeshare flights are excluded from this offer. Additionally, SkyMiles members originating travel in the USA will earn 1,000 bonus miles for each qualifying round-trip ticket purchased and flown to the above destinations at delta.com during the promotional period.

Award Travel:
Taxes and fees for Award Travel are the responsibility of the passenger and must be paid at the time the ticket is booked. Award Travel seats are limited and may not be available on all flights or in all markets.

Travel Period:
Travel must be between April 1, 2008 and May 31, 2008. All travel must be completed by May 31, 2008.

Miscellaneous:
Your bonus miles will appear automatically on your SkyMiles statement. Allow up to six weeks after qualifying travel is completed for credit to appear. All SkyMiles program rules apply. To review the rules, please visit delta.com/memberguide. Offer is void where prohibited by law. This SkyMiles offer is subject to change or withdrawal at any time without prior notice. Bonus applies only to the traveling SkyMiles member. This offer cannot be combined with other Delta/SkyTeam® offers. Please refer Delta customer service representative to 970627.