Delta pilots prepare to merge

ATLANTA -- A combination involving Delta Air Lines Inc. may be close, the head of the carrier's pilots union said in a letter to rank-and-file members Wednesday.

Lee Moak, chairman of the union's executive committee, said in the letter that "consolidation may indeed be at our door."

Moak said union leaders are meeting in Atlanta this week in part to discuss "the fact that our company may soon be involved in some form of industry consolidation."

Moak noted in the letter fuel prices are at record highs and Delta's stock price since the company emerged from Chapter 11 last April has fallen dramatically, at one point as much as 45 percent. Its shares soared nearly 15 percent in trading Wednesday.

Moak did not say how the union is aware Delta may be close to a merger. The pilots union has a representative on Delta's board of directors.

Moak said the union has retained legal counsel specializing in the field of mergers and acquisitions, and he has reactivated the union's strike preparedness committee. Moak reiterated the pilots union would support a merger under the right circumstances.

Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton declined to comment Wednesday. Delta has previously said its board is evaluating whether to combine with another airline.

In November, Delta denied reports it was talking to Chicago-based UAL Corp.'s United Airlines about a combination. Since then, it has said little about the issue. Some analysts have suggested recently a Delta-Northwest combination may be possible.