Delta president to Minn. lawmakers: HQ decision final

05/05/2008

St. Paul (AP) — The president and chief financial officer of Delta Airlines is telling Minnesota lawmakers there's nothing they can do that would keep a merged Delta-Northwest headquarters in Minnesota.

Delta's Ed Bastian is testifying at the state Capitol about the merger plans.

When he was asked if the Legislature could do anything to change the decision to locate the merged headquarters at Delta's home base in Atlanta, he said no.

The Delta official repeated assurances that the merged company would keep the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport as a hub and that most front-line jobs would be retained. House members pressed him for details on how many Northwest jobs would be lost in Minnesota, but Bastian said there's no definite answer on that yet.