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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_airline_mergers_and_acquisitions

This article lists airline mergers and acquisitions, with a brief history of each:

1. Air West
   • 1968 - Pacific Air Lines (originally Southwest Airways), Bonanza Air Lines, and West Coast Airlines merged to form Air West
   • 1970 - Howard Hughes purchased Air West and renamed it Hughes Airwest
2. Delta Air Lines
   • 1924 - Started as Huff Daland Dusters
   • 1928 - Huff Daland Dusters was purchased by C.E. Woolman and renamed Delta Air Service after the Mississippi Delta
   • 1953 - Purchased the Chicago and Southern Air Lines, and flew under the name Delta C&S for the next two years
   • 1972 - Purchased Northeast Airlines
   • 1984 - Established the Delta Connection (ASA, Comair, Skywest, ...)
     
   • 1987 - Merged with Western Airlines
   • 1991 - Purchase of Pan Am's European routes, and acquired Pan Am's shuttle, forming what is today Delta Shuttle
   • 1996 - Delta Express began service, ended November 2003
   • 2003 - Song began service, ended May 2006
   • 2008 - Completed merger with Northwest Airlines. Became the world's largest carrier by passenger traffic (to keep Delta name)
3. Hughes Airwest
   • 1970 - Howard Hughes purchased Air West and renamed it Hughes Airwest
   • 1980 - Republic Airlines bought out Hughes Airwest
4. Northeast Airlines
   • 1972 - Delta purchased Northeast Airlines
5. Northwest Airlines
   • 1916 - Founded by Col. Lewis Patenaude, under the name Northwest Airways
     
   • 1927 - Began flying passengers
   • 1949 - With its new routes to the far east, re-branded itself as Northwest Orient Airlines
   • 1986 - Purchased Republic Airlines, and dropped the word Orient from its brand name
   • 2008 - Merged with Delta to form the world's largest carrier. Currently a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, Inc. Combined carrier will use the Delta name.
6. Pan Am
   • 1991 - Delta Air Lines purchased Pan Am's European routes, and acquired Pan Am's Shuttle
7. Republic Airlines
   • 1979 - Formed by the merger of North Central Airlines and Southern Airways
   • 1980 - Bought out Hughes Airwest
   • 1986 - Northwest purchased Republic Airlines
8. Western Airlines
   • 1925 - First incorporated as Western Air Express by Harris Hanshue
   • 1926 - Western's first flight took place
   • 1928 - Reincorporated as Western Air Express Corp.
   • 1930 - Purchased Standard Airlines (subsidiary of Aero Corp. of Ca. founded in 1926). WAE with Fokker aircraft merged with Transcontinental Air Transport to form TWA.
   • 1934 - Western Air Express broke off from TWA and briefly changed its name to General Air Lines, returning to the name Western Air Express after several months
   • 1941 - Western Air Express changed its name to Western Air Lines, which was later altered to Western Airlines
   • 1967 - merged with Pacific Northern Airlines
   • 1987 - Delta merged with Western Airlines (kept Delta name)

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Published in July 2009.

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