Order 2010-07-4

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Issued by the Department of Transportation 

On the Ninth day of July, 2010

Delta Air Lines, Inc. and 

Northwest Airlines, Inc.

Violations of 14 CFR 257.5(a) and (d), and 

49 U.S.C. § 41712

Docket

Served

OST-2010-0005

July 9, 2010 

CONSENT ORDER

This order concerns apparent violations by Delta Air Lines, Inc., (Delta), and its operating 

subsidiary Northwest Airlines, Inc.1

Section 257.4 of the code-share disclosure rule states that the holding out or sale of scheduled 

passenger air transportation involving a code-share arrangement is an unfair and deceptive 

trade practice in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712 unless, in conjunction with that holding out or 

sale, carriers follow certain notice requirements, including those of 14 CFR 257.5(a) and (d). 

With regard to written or electronic schedule information concerning a flight that is part of a 

code-share arrangement, section 257.5(a) requires that carriers disclose in written or 

electronic schedule information available to the public, including the Official Airline Guide

(OAG) and, where applicable, computer reservation systems, the corporate name of the 

transporting carrier, and any other name under which the flight is held out to the public. 

Likewise, with regard to published advertisements for air transportation services provided 

under a code-share arrangement, including those published on the Internet, section 257.5(d) 

states that the advertisement must identify all potential transporting carriers by corporate 

name “and by any other name under which that service is held out to the public.” Violations 

(“Northwest”) of the Department’s code-share disclosure 

rule, 14 CFR Part 257, and the statutory prohibition against unfair and deceptive practices, 49 

U.S.C. § 41712. The instant order directs Delta to cease and desist from future violations of 

Part 257 and section 41712, and assesses Delta, individually and as successor to Northwest,

$80,000 in civil penalties.

 1 At all times relevant to the subject matter of this order, Delta Air Lines, Inc., and Northwest Airlines, Inc., were 

and remained separate and distinct legal entities. This order addresses the two carriers simultaneously due to the 

common causes of the violations addressed herein, and in recognition of the merger of the two carriers’ 

operating certificates, completed December 31, 2009, after which Northwest Airlines, Inc., ceased to exist as a 

separate legal entity, and as a consequence of which Delta Air Lines stands as its sole successor in interest.
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of either section 257.5(a) or 257.5(d) also constitute unfair and deceptive trade practices and 

unfair methods of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712.

An investigation by the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings (Enforcement 

Office) revealed a significant lack of compliance by Delta with section 257.5. For a period 

during mid-2009, both Delta and Northwest submitted schedule and fare data to the OAG that

failed to include a disclosure of the “Delta Connection” trade name used by their regional 

carrier affiliates.2

http://www.delta.com

 The failure to provide this information to the OAG resulted in a failure by 

every automated booking engine that relies on the OAG for schedule and fare data, including 

the carriers’ own websites ( and http://www.nwa.com), and the websites 

of Delta and Northwest agents Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, and others, to accurately report to 

consumers the trade name used by the regional carrier affiliates of both Delta and Northwest, 

as required by section 257.5(a) and (d).3

The Enforcement Office believes that the failure by both Delta and Northwest to provide the 

required trade name information likely resulted in confusion for and inconvenience to many 

passengers, increasing the risk of missed connections or missed flights, particularly at those 

airports where, during the affected period, Delta and Northwest continued to utilize check-in 

and gate facilities at different terminals (such as DCA and PHL), and particularly with respect 

to those flights, and with respect to those regional affiliates, that consumers may have 

reasonably expected to still be operating under the “Northwest Airlink” trade name.

 Thus, for example, if a potential customer conducted

an airfare search from Delta’s main webpage for flights from Washington-Reagan National 

Airport (DCA) to Indianapolis International Airport (IND), the search results would properly 

identify each operating carrier as well as its code-share relationship to Delta or Northwest, as 

appropriate, but in every instance, would fail to state that carriage would be provided under 

the “Delta Connection” trade name. The omission affected the marketing of hundreds of 

flights, across all major online sales channels, and potentially impacted the purchasing and 

travel decisions of thousands of customers across a period of at least three to four months.

In mitigation, on behalf of itself and Northwest, Delta states that it is committed to strict 

compliance with the disclosure requirements of Part 257 and corrected the omission of the 

“dba Delta Connection” language in its schedule loads promptly after the Department brought 

this issue to its attention. Delta further notes that prior to correction, the schedules published 

by both Delta and Northwest disclosed the existence of a code-share relationship, where 

appropriate, and the identity of the operating carrier. Delta therefore contends that it fully 

complied with the spirit of Part 257.

 2 Delta’s “regional affiliates,” as referenced herein and which operated under the “Delta Connection” trade name 

during the effected period, included Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Inc. (ASQ), Chautauqua Airlines, Inc. (CHQ), 

Comair (COM), Compass Airlines (CPZ), Freedom Airlines, Inc. (FRL), Mesaba Aviation, Inc. (MES), Pinnacle 

Airlines (FLG), Shuttle America Corp. (TCF), and SkyWest Airlines, Inc. (SKW). Of these, only COM, CPZ 

and MES were wholly or majority owned by Delta. Northwest’s “regional affiliates,” as referenced herein and 

which were operated under the “Delta Connection” trade name during the effected period, included Compass 

Airlines (CPZ), Mesaba Aviation, Inc. (MES), and Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. (FLG).

3 Affected fare and schedule data that appeared on the carriers’ own websites constituted “published 

advertisements” within the meaning of 14 CFR 257.5(d).
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Delta agrees that potential customer confusion during the airport check-in process is a vital 

concern, and asserts that it is one it takes very seriously. Nevertheless, Delta argues that, as a 

result of contemporaneous efforts to inform the public of service changes occurring as part of 

its merger with Northwest, its failure, and the failure by Northwest, to include the “dba Delta 

Connection” trade name in any of its published fare and schedule information during the 

affected period did not create actual confusion in the minds of its customers.

In October 2008, Delta closed its merger with Northwest. Delta points out that it took several 

specific steps during the weeks and months that followed to ensure that the traveling public 

was fully informed of the operational changes being made as the merger process proceeded. 

Delta emphasizes that it voluntarily chose to dedicate extensive resources to, among other 

things, communicating as clearly as possible to Delta and Northwest passengers where they 

needed to check-in for Delta and Northwest flights (including those of the regional Delta 

Connection partners) operated during the transitional period of the merger. Moreover, Delta 

points to additional measures taken at the airport to assist customers who for any reason 

arrived at the wrong terminal for check-in during the merger integration process. These 

measures included the provisioning of additional signage and pre-printed information cards, 

the introduction of special procedures to allow check-in of passengers and baggage from any 

Delta or Northwest counter, and the allocation of standby ground transportation to deliver 

passengers and baggage from one terminal to the other if the need arose.

Delta contends that disclosure of the relevant terminal information in those itineraries and 

boarding passes provided through its own websites, and the additional measures taken at the 

airport, were a much more direct and effective means of addressing potential customer 

confusion than full compliance with Part 257. Delta argues that mere full compliance with 

Part 257 would not have adequately communicated terminal information to customers, 

particularly as OAG data are frequently viewed or used by a customer weeks or months in 

advance of the anticipated date of travel. Indeed, Delta asserts that full compliance with Part 

257 actually might have led some passengers to erroneously assume a given “Delta

Connection” flight was departing from the pre-merger Delta facilities, when it was actually 

departing from the pre-merger Northwest facilities, and so might have caused more confusion 

than it would cure.

We have carefully considered the mitigating factors put forward by Delta, but continue to 

view seriously the failure of Delta and Northwest to disclose the trade name of their regional 

connection code-share partners as required by 14 CFR Part 257. We are unconvinced that any 

component requirement of Part 257 is rendered mere surplusage where a carrier makes 

disclosures in airport signage, or takes other steps, to achieve, in its sole judgment, the same 

end. The Enforcement Office recognizes that the efforts by both Delta and Northwest to 

inform customers of proper terminal and gate locations for all of the flights marketed under 

their codes, regardless of the business names or liveries used by their affiliated code-share 

partners, likely mitigated the confusion resulting from their failure to fully and adequately 

disclose business name information in their OAG schedule data. A carrier’s perception that it 

must do more than Part 257 requires, however, does not excuse the carrier from also 

complying with the rule’s specific disclosure requirements. At a time when relevant customer 

confusion was likely to peak, precisely when new business names and liveries were being 

applied to entire fleets of aircraft, the violations of Part 257 discussed herein could only 
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contribute to an even higher level of confusion that subsequent disclosures and signage would 

struggle to undo.

Accordingly, after carefully considering all of the facts in this case, including those set forth 

above, the Enforcement Office believes that enforcement action is warranted. In order to 

avoid litigation, Delta, individually and as successor to Northwest, agrees to the issuance of 

this order to cease and desist from future similar violations of Part 257 and 49 U.S.C. 

§ 41712, and to the assessment of $80,000 in compromise of potential civil penalties 

otherwise assessable against it. We believe that this compromise assessment is appropriate in 

view of the nature and extent of the violations in question, serves the public interest, and 

provides a meaningful incentive to all airlines to comply with the Department’s code-share 

disclosure rule.

This order is issued under the authority contained in 49 CFR 1.57a and 14 CFR 385.15.

ACCORDINGLY,

1. Based on the above discussion, we approve this settlement and the provisions of this 

order as being in the public interest;

2. We find that Delta Air Lines, Inc., violated 14 CFR 257.5(a) and (d) by failing to 

disclose code-share arrangements as required;

3. We find that Northwest Airlines, Inc., violated 14 CFR 257.5(a) and (d) by failing to 

disclose code-share arrangements as required;

4. We find that by engaging in the conduct and violations described in ordering 

paragraph 2, above, Delta Air Lines, Inc., engaged in unfair and deceptive practices 

and unfair methods of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712;

5. We find that by engaging in the conduct and violations described in ordering 

paragraph 3, above, Northwest Airlines, Inc., engaged in unfair and deceptive 

practices and unfair methods of competition in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 41712;

6. We order Delta Air Lines, Inc., and all other entities owned and controlled by or under 

the common ownership and control with Delta Air Lines, Inc., and their successors 

and assignees to cease and desist from further similar violations of 14 CFR Part 257

and 49 U.S.C. § 41712;

7. Delta Air Lines, Inc., individually and as successor to Northwest Airlines, Inc., is 

assessed a compromise civil penalty of $80,000 in lieu of civil penalties that might 

otherwise be assessed for the violations described herein. Of the total penalty amount, 

$40,000 shall be due and payable no later than 15 days after the date this order is 

issued. The remaining $40,000 shall become due and payable if Delta Air Lines, Inc., 

violates this order’s cease and desist provision within one year following the date of 

issuance of this order, or fails to comply with the payment provisions of this order, in 

which case the entire unpaid portion of the civil penalty shall become due and payable 

immediately; and
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8. Payment shall be made by wire transfer through the Federal Reserve Communications 

System, commonly known as “Fed Wire,” to the account of the U.S. Treasury. The 

wire transfer shall be executed in accordance with the attached instructions. Failure to 

pay the penalty as ordered will subject Delta Air Lines, Inc., its successors or 

assignees, to the assessment of interest, penalty, and collection charges under the Debt 

Collection Act and to possible further enforcement action for failure to comply with 

this order

This order will become a final order of the Department 10 days after its service unless a 

timely petition for review is filed or the Department takes review on its own initiative.

BY:

ROSALIND A. KNAPP

Deputy General Counsel

(SEAL)

An electronic version of this document is available at www.regulations.gov