Springtime for Delta

The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, with nearly four pages of coverage, reported the significance of US Airways' 20% bid increase, which is effective until February 1. US Airways hopes to acquire Delta before a possible industry-wide shift of mergers begins, and before Delta's date of emergence. It is said that people familiar with the talk have an interest in that date to be sometime in the second quarter.
Nevertheless, the creditors and management participating in the decision making process must face the ambivalent contrasts between interests of rationality and the vehemence of the employees. Northwest and Delta have less route overlap, thus resulting in a better outlook for the unions. A private equity investment might be the best temporary solution, but a merger, either with Northwest (in bankruptcy-court protection itself) or US Airways, makes the combined entity preponderantly more competitive.