Airline merger can help state prosper

Editor's note: The following is excerpted from testimony being submitted today to the House Judiciary Committee by a group of Minnesota business leaders regarding the proposed Northwest Airlines-Delta merger. Their names appear at the end of the article.

It's impossible for proud Minnesotans like us to not have mixed emotions about last week's merger announcement between Northwest and Delta Air Lines. Northwest is as much a part of our state as our lakes, our winters and our hockey. Even so, Minnesota businesses recognize that this merger is an economic necessity for both airlines in an era of unprecedented pressures from record oil prices, economic distress and competition.

We also recognize and expect that, while the Northwest name may cease, the air service that drives billions of dollars of economic activity will go forward under the Delta banner. Minneapolis/St. Paul will continue as a major, primary and growing airline hub, providing economic benefits to the Twin Cities and the entire Upper Midwest region. Both Delta and Northwest have pledged to grow -- and strengthen -- our hub, to maintain substantial management and line operations in Minnesota and to continue to be one of our largest employers. The new Delta has the opportunity to serve Minnesota better, to provide greater job security and to catalyze economic activity statewide.

The MSP hub has been and will continue to be critical to the ongoing development of our economy. The benefits of the hub -- frequent, nonstop service to a wide range of domestic and international destinations -- makes it easy for our citizens to travel for business and leisure and, even more important, for the world to come to Minnesota.

The Metropolitan Airports Commission reported that, in 2004, our airport generated 153,000 jobs, $6 billion in personal income, $10.7 billion in business revenue, $1.3 billion in sales and $626 million in state and local taxes.

Its current status and future growth are secured by the commitments of the merged airline's board of directors and management.

Implementation of this promise will rest with thousands of front-line employees who work on the ground and in the air. These Minnesota employees are protected by a promise of no involuntary furloughs and a commitment that any employee who wants to stay with the combined airline will have a job.

Bankruptcies and high oil prices present a much greater threat to airline employees than mergers. In fact, the airline industry has lost over 150,000 jobs since 2001 through bankruptcy and recession. Five U.S. airlines have failed so far this year due to high fuel prices and a struggling economy. The combined airline will be better able to meet those challenges.

The expanded Delta network will strengthen and preserve the primacy of our Twin Cities hub by making it economical to serve more destinations and provide more schedule options.

Our community has enjoyed substantial growth and prosperity in recent times largely because our means of making a living has evolved constantly. A key ingredient to that evolution has been the hub at MSP. For our economic evolution and success to continue, we must be able to reach the world and the world must be able to reach us -- reliably and at a competitive price. We believe this merger increases our chances of being able to do that, well into the future.

We will miss and remember the Northwest name as it gives way to Delta; we will credit it for creating and sustaining the hub at MSP, and we will benefit from its legacy every time we board a Delta flight for a nonstop domestic or international destination. For these reasons, we believe a merger between Delta and Northwest can help fuel the development and growth of our economy.

David C. Olson, president, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce; Todd Klingel, president, Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce; Kristofer Johnson, president, St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, and Daron Van Helden, chair, Metropolitan Coalition of Chambers.