Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines today (October 30) formally merged to create the world's biggest carrier.
The merger was approved by US anti-trust authorities yesterday and the new airline, to be called Delta, came into being today.
The carrier, based in Atlanta, Georgia, will have 75,000 employees, serve 375 destinations in 66 countries and carry more than 170m passengers a year.
It will also keep its hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, and Tokyo-Narita.
Richard Anderson, formerly ceo of Delta Air Lines and now ceo of the new carrier, said Delta would combine the best of the two former carriers to create a "premier global airline."
He said it was different from other airline mergers because of the complementary nature of the two airlines.
The integration of the two carriers is expected to take between 12-24 months.
Delta said the merger is expected to generate $2bn in annual revenue and cost synergies from better use of its aircraft, a diversified route system and cost synergies from reduced overheads and improved efficiencies.
Delta said the cost of the merger would be a "one-time" figure not exceeding $600m.
Delta closed the deal as soon as the US Department of Justice approved the tie up.
The EC had given it the go ahead earlier this year.
Vsit www.delta.com and www.nwa.com.