The merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines could benefit to Boeing,

assesses Seattle Post Intelligencer. The newspaper says this merger actually raises several questions about future fleet strategy, as Northwest is the largest operator of Airbus planes in the US, while Delta is one of Boeing’s most loyal customers. Richard Aboulafia, aviation expert at Teal Group, deems that “Airbus probably has more to lose in all of this than Boeing”. Though Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta, said “you are basically going to have a very balanced fleet between Boeing and Airbus”, his company still has 52 unfilled orders with Boeing and Northwest has 18 of the 787s on order, with options for 50 more, which are likely to be exercised. Seattle Post Intelligencer (16/04)