An agreement has been reached, and barring any roadblocks from antitrust authorities Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines are merging and will operate under the Delta Airlines name.

Richard Anderson, Delta CEO, said: "We said we would only enter into a consolidation transaction if it was right for all of our constituencies; Delta and Northwest are a perfect fit."

I've written an article to outline what Delta perceives to be the benefits of the merger for passengers and its employees; what the new airline will look like; and some of the details of the deal. Delta Air Lines, Northwest Airlines Set to Merge - Ready for the Mega-Airline?