Bob CollinsAtlanta and Minneapolis are trying to get to know each other in the wake of the coming merger between the two hometown airlines. Reporters from this neck of the woods are in Atlanta. The Atlanta reporters are already here, as evidenced by the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s assessment of what the people in Eagan think about all of this merger stuff.
“Everything changes,” philosophized Kevin Swanlund, the bartender. “It’s never good to lose any jobs. But Minnesotans are sought after. We’re hard workers. We’ll all find something to do. Change is a dynamic of this place.”
That certainly appears true in this suburban-industrial town of new office parks, strip malls and subdivisions a few miles from the airport. Despite its stature, Northwest is only the third largest employer in Eagan with 2,300 employees scattered among three buildings.
Just as media reports are indicating that a Northwest-Delta deal may be in trouble, a vice president of Delta is actually talking about the merger.
According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Lee Macenczak, Delta’s executive vice president of sales and customer service, told a business luncheon that “rising fuel prices, increased global competition and customer demand are driving his company’s pursuit of Northwest.”
