As Delta Airlines emerges from bankruptcy protection, US Airways made a multi-billion dollar offer Wednesday to purchase the struggling airline. Delta has a large presence in Ohio. And passengers and officials offer a voice on the proposed merger.
US Airways offered to buy Delta for $8 billion in cash and stock once the airline gets out of bankruptcy. US Airways said a combined airline would fly with ten percent fewer planes. And that's a concern for some Port Columbus fliers.
Linda Short does not always fly with Delta. But she does fly out of Port Columbus quite a bit and said a merger would be fine if it means more flights.
"Mergers are good if in fact they're going to increase the amount of flights going out, especially non-stop which is always an issue now because you get stuck at airports all the time," Short said.
But for Delta flier Ted Richardson, a merger does not set well.
"I'm not in favor of it because I'm a loyal Delta traveler approaching two million miles on the airline and I don't want to see the change," Richardson said.
Delta is the second largest carrier at Port Columbus with 38 flights a day including its express carriers. US Airways has 28 daily flights. If the airlines merge, Southwest would no longer hold the top spot at Port Columbus. But spokesperson for the Columbus Regional Airport Authority, Angie Tabor, said it's too early to speculate what kind of impact this could have on Port Columbus.
"Delta has stated that they're not looking to become part of another company. Both Delta and US Airways are both successful at Port Columbus," Tabor said.
Cincinnati may have more to lose than Columbus. Delta operated a major hub at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport. If the deal goes through, it would create one of the world's largest airlines. And Delta would still operate under the Delta name.