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(AP) - Delta Air Lines Inc.'s top two executives told
employees Tuesday that the nation's No. 3 carrier has not yet
arrived at a potential combination transaction that meets all of
its principles.

      The memo to employees from Delta Chief Executive Richard
Anderson and President Ed Bastian was issued as talks between the
Atlanta-based company and Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest Airlines
Corp. have been hampered by an inability by their pilots unions to
reach a deal on integrating seniority lists.

      The executives said the company's criteria for any potential
deal include protecting the seniority of Delta employees and
creating greater job security.

      Other conditions include that the combined airline be called
Delta and be headquartered in Atlanta. Officials familiar with the
talks have said those criteria have already been met, as have most
other issues, except for pilot integration.

      "Rest assured that we will not complete a transaction unless
all of these conditions are met," the Delta executives said in the
memo. "We have a strong stand-alone plan. We will maintain our
attention on executing that plan while we continue to look at
strategic alternatives."

      Not too long ago, Delta and Northwest seemed all but certain to
announce a combination soon.

      That still could happen, but the pilot impasse has jeopardized a
deal. Neither side has suggested they are ready to walk away, but
there has been a public and private silence in recent days from
many people familiar with the deal.

      Industry observers say that if a Delta-Northwest combination
falls through, the two airlines could stay independent, seek a
quick deal with another carrier or wait until next year to try the
consolidation game again.

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The memo to Delta employees was issued as talks between the Atlanta-based company and Minnesota-based Northwest Airlines have been hampered by an inability by their pilots unions to
reach a deal on integrating seniority lists.

Delta executives: No deal yet that meets all goals

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