<p>An old marketing slogan in Georgia said that passengers flew into Atlanta on a Delta jet, drank a Coca-Cola on the flight and dined at a Chick-fil-A fast-food restaurant when they landed.</p><p>It was a trifecta of Atlanta-based brands.</p><p>But US Airways Group Inc.'s hostile $8 billion cash and stock bid for Delta Air Lines Inc. has raised local worries that Atlanta could lose one of its most famous names _ Delta _ to Tempe, Ariz., where US Airways is based.</p><p>"It's upsetting to a lot of families ... People at Delta are disturbed about it," said Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, who has maintained close ties for decades with the airline and its employees.</p><p>"I can't imagine Atlanta existing without Delta," added Cathy, who even once promoted the relationship between the Atlanta-based airline, soft drink and fast-food restaurant on a billboard near the airport.</p><p>Yet the threat of losing Delta is just one of multiple corporate challenges facing the city. The fate of two other Fortune 500 companies in Atlanta is in question. BellSouth is being acquired by AT&T Inc., based in San Antonio, Texas, in what is being called the largest ever telecommunications merger.</p><p>A year ago, Wichita, Kan.-based Koch Industries Inc. announced it was buying paper products giant Georgia Pacific in a move to create the largest U.S. private company.</p><p>Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and officials at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce did not immediately return repeated calls for comment Thursday.</p><p>Gov. Sonny Perdue's office pledged Wednesday that "the governor will do everything in his power to keep and attract jobs in and to Georgia."</p><p>"Delta is as valuable a corporate citizen and partner as we have in Georgia," spokesman Dan McLagan said. "They intend to emerge from bankruptcy as a standalone air carrier and the governor supports them in that goal."</p><p>But at least one expert says Atlanta will not suffer badly from the recent round of mergers.</p><p>"The sky is not falling; it's not something Atlanta can control," said Tim Crimmins, professor of history at Georgia State University in Atlanta. "Part of it is just bragging rights. Atlanta likes to claim that we have 'x' number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered here. If you look carefully at the last 20 years, you'll see a coming and going and if you look ahead 20 years, you'll see more of this."</p><p>Crimmins said similar things happened in the past when Atlanta banks and department stores merged with larger regional or national companies. Despite pulling out their headquarters, he said, those businesses still maintained a strong local presence.</p><p>"In terms of the economy of the city, the impact (of a Delta merger) is not as great as it might seem; the operation will continue to do its major business in Atlanta. I don't see a Delta takeover as a major loss of jobs in the Atlanta area," Crimmins said. "It's not the death knell of business in Atlanta ... there's just too much advantage for business here."</p><p>And the Delta name would remain if the merger happened, US Airways officials previously said.</p><p>"You'd be crazy to give away the Delta name. It's a much more powerful brand than US Airways," said Bob Harrell, an airline consultant in New York. "It's even more than Coca-Cola. If you drink a Coke, you may not know the headquarters is in Atlanta but if you're flying, you'd know that Delta is synonymous with Atlanta and I don't see how that would ever change."</p><p>Philanthropic efforts in Atlanta may be the one area affected by a takeover. Large corporations headquartered in the city, including Delta, donate millions of dollars each year to local arts groups and other nonprofit agencies, Crimmins said.</p><p>Groups such as the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta said they did not want to speculate on the impact of a Delta-US Airways merger.</p><p>"On average, headquartered communities do more giving in their home community than they do in the balance of their markets. But you have companies like Publix (Super Markets Inc.) that do as much giving outside of Lakeland, Fla., so it's not a given what will happen," said Mark O'Connell, president of Atlanta's United Way. "It's not necessarily a foregone conclusion that the new owner wouldn't be as generous as the previous company."</p><p>But he added, "Anytime we lose a headquartered company, it's something to watch."</p><p>Anthony Sabino, professor of law and business at St. John's University in New York, said it's even possible that a merger may mean that US Airways chief executive Doug Parker selects Atlanta as the new company's headquarters.</p><p>"If he asked me, I would strongly advise him to consider putting the new entity's headquarters in Atlanta. They already want to call it the "new" Delta to exploit the fact the Delta name is much better known. People associate Delta and Atlanta like peanut butter and jelly.</p><p>"If he think's it's (Tempe), that's his choice, but I really think he's got to say, 'I'm on the next Delta jet to Atlanta.' I think he's got to be thinking strongly about it."</p><p>____</p><p>Associated Press writers Harry R. Weber and Shannon McCaffrey in Atlanta contributed to this article.</p>
