We’re excited to report the completion of another merger milestone this week (and this one’s been a doozie). We’ve updated 247 airports around the world with Delta branding as part of our merger with Northwest. Talk about easier said than done. This merger makeover was like having a dinner party while you’re renovating the kitchen.
Our number one goal was to make the process seamless for our customers. We had to ensure that flight operations could continue unaffected while we made some major changes at each airport. That means we updated all airports between the last flight out and the first take-off the following day – quite the graveyard shift for a lot of Delta folks who made it happen.
So, how did we do it? We’ve been planning this integration since September 2008, and there isn’t a group or department at Delta that hasn’t been involved. From Airport Customer Service to Corporate Real Estate all the way to Information Technology and Cargo, this accomplishment is a true team effort!
While you may have only seen Northwest signs come down and the Delta signs go up, so much more was going on behind the scenes. We assessed each and every airport and completed an extensive 150-line checklist to make sure we had dotted our “I”s and crossed our “T”s.
Everything had to be reviewed and planned appropriately. In some cases, this was as “easy” as taking two operations (check-in counters, gates, etc.) and consolidating them into one. In others, we worked with other airlines to move their operations (and our employees did physically move other airlines) before we could start setting up our operations. Once we had the blueprint for the airport, we began the process to ensure that all necessary elements were ordered and in place prior to consolidation – things as big as new loading bridges and ticket counters all the way down to boarding pass readers and checked baggage tags – had to be moved, ordered or replaced. Finally, we worked with just about every department to confirm we were all ready for each respective big day. Sales, marketing, IT, operations, catering, customer service, even phone and janitorial services had to be ready at all 247 airports!
Minneapolis Airport Before
Minneapolis Airport After
Between November 2008 and January 2010, we rebranded 15 to 20 airports around the world per month. The end result: one combined airline with a consistent presence across the globe (not to mention $75 million in savings per year by ensuring more efficient airport operations).
All in all, we’re pretty thrilled to check off another major merger to-do. Tell us what you think. Have you noticed any changes at your hometown airport? How’s it look?
John H.
Corporate Real Estate
January 22nd, 2010 at 4:51 pm
A very interesting perspective on the change-over. Any idea when the airplane’s liveries will all be converted to DAL?
January 22nd, 2010 at 5:59 pm
I personally love the new look at DTW. From the check-in counters, to the employee uniforms, everything looks great. Very sleek and modern! One thing I would suggest considering is moving the eTicket kiosks out into the lobby at DTW similar to what you did in ATL. When I traveled on Delta this past holiday season, there was an extremely long line (I mean, it went from one end of the McNamara Terminal check-in area to the other) in the check-in area which could have been alleviated had you had more kiosks readily available to those who know how to use them. This way, the check-in counters would merely act as a “baggage drop”, thus eliminating that long of a line. Other than that, the terminal looks great!
January 23rd, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Orlando is looking very nice, I noticed something interesting that you did when you moved all the Northwest operations to airside 4 was that the Northwest flights leave out of the even numbered 70 gates(72,74,76,78) and Delta operates out of mostly the odd numbered 70 gates(71,73,75,77..).
February 12th, 2010 at 5:58 pm
You are looking good as ever. I’m thrilled by the additional aircraft. The air bus 320,330 series is very comfortable; especially in first class.
Please consider bringing back the 777 for long distance domestic flights I miss them on my Atlanta to california or Seattle flights.
I’ve noticed Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach have exemplary crown rooms. Can these become the standard?
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis are looking great. Keep up the good work. I spend more time in the air transportation system than I do in a car and at home. How about focusing on the issues at LAX. Over the past 6-8 months – once NWA was moved over to Terminal 5/6, getting through the lobby and security lines has been excruciating. The Sky Club in terminal 5 could use a nice facelift so it looks like the clubs in CVG, ATL, DFW, MSP, DTW, etc. LAX needs some work. Overall Delta has a great public image – keep it up.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:37 pm
well, MHT is looking fine, but for all the flights delta has out of there i would suspect a slightly larger ticket counter, but otherwise looks great.! maybe get some airbuses into MHT or 737′s in there it would be great