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Merger Of Northwest, Delta Takes Shape At Tampa Airport

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By TED JACKOVICS

tjackovics@tampatrib.com

Published: March 13, 2009

TAMPA - Northwest Airlines will relocate from Tampa International Airport's Airside A to be with Delta Airlines at Airside E by the end of April in another step toward the merger of the carriers that officially took place in October, airport director Louis Miller said Thursday.

The two airlines have begun to shift schedules among destinations, although those flights show up on both airlines' Web sites.

For example, the nonstop Tampa-Los Angeles flight formerly operated by Delta now shows up as a Northwest flight.

Two Delta flights serving the Tampa-Hartford, Conn., route will become Northwest flights in the April schedules.

Fully consolidated Delta-Northwest schedules are expected before summer under the brand name Delta. Full integration of Delta and Northwest Web sites, kiosks and technology used by consumers is in the works.

No flights serving Tampa are scheduled to be eliminated through September, Miller said.

Tampa International reported a 10.4 percent decline in departing passengers to 686,659 in February compared with a year ago. Delta is the second busiest carrier at Tampa International, and Northwest is seventh. The merged Delta will remain the second busiest carrier in Tampa, behind Southwest Airlines.

In other news, Tampa International ranked seventh best nationwide in on-time departure performance in January with 82.7 percent of flights leaving within 15 minutes of schedule. The airport ranked 11th in arrivals performance, with 79.2 percent of flights within the U.S. Department of Transportation's 15 minute benchmark.

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

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