ATLANTA — Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines are inching closer to a combination that would create the nation’s largest carrier, and if a deal is reached it could be announced next week, a person briefed on the discussions told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported online that discussions between United parent UAL Corp. and Continental have become more serious.
Delta had opened merger talks with United and Northwest, and analysts have predicted that a Delta-Northwest tie-up would be the most likely combination.
United is Denver International Airport’s largest carrier.
Delta’s board of directors is expected to meet over the next several days, the person told AP without elaborating on the topic of the meeting.
The person, who was not authorized to talk as the negotiations entered a sensitive stage and asked not to be named, said one point of contention has been what Northwest chief executive Doug Steenland’s role would be at the combined company.
The person briefed on the discussions cautioned that things could change since Delta also has been talking to United, and there have been reports that other carriers have been talking among themselves about possible deals.
A Delta spokeswoman said she could not comment beyond the airline’s past statements that it’s reviewing its strategic options, including a possible combination transaction. A spokeswoman for Northwest declined to comment. A United spokeswoman declined comment.
United CEO Glenn Tilton told analysts at the company’s annual investors day in Chicago on Tuesday that he wouldn’t predict the timing of any consolidation but “it’s important that it happens for the industry to be successful.”
United and Continental are widely viewed as possible partners if consolidation goes ahead, and Tilton is believed to have made overtures about a combination long ago.
