Northwest, Delta Execs Lobby For Merger

 Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines executives kicked off a two-day Washington lobbying spree Tuesday, before they testify at a House hearing on their companies’ proposed merger.

Delta CEO Richard Anderson and Northwest CEO Doug Steenland said they’ll be targeting lawmakers from key congressional committees and from states that have their airline hubs.

The executives refused to name names, but a Democratic staffer said the two will meet with Sen. Herb Kohl, (D-Wis.), chairman of the Senate anti-trust subcommittee. Other likely targets are House Judiciary Committee Chairman John B. Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and House Transportation Committee Chairman James. Oberstar (D-Minn.).

“This gives us an opportunity to present members of Congress with the facts,” Steenland said.

The personal lobbying blitz will add to an impressive army of top-ranking lobbyists and Washington insiders that Delta has assembled to push the merger case.

Former Sens. John Breaux (D-La.) and Trent Lott (R-Miss.) lead the pack, along with the Justice Department’s former anti-trust leader, R. Hewitt Pate, and top anti-trust lawyer Donald L. Fexner of Boies, Schiller & Flexner, according to lobby registration records.
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