<p>Delta Air Lines Inc.'s incoming chief executive has gained a reputation in the airline industry as a decisive leader with a common man appeal.</p><p>That laid back style helped Richard Anderson win over employees as CEO at Northwest Airlines Corp., but now as he heads into his new role at Delta he faces a company that has embraced independence.</p><p>Industry experts said that if Anderson decides to seek a merger with another carrier, as some observers have speculated he might, it may be a tough sell at an airline that went to war to stay on its own.</p><p>"I think the biggest challenge he may face is the Delta culture, to get those people working with him," Minneapolis-based airline expert Terry Trippler said Wednesday.</p><p>Since being named Tuesday as Gerald Grinstein's replacement as Delta's CEO, effective Sept. 1, Anderson has denied speculation that he might consider a merger between Atlanta-based Delta and Eagan, Minn.-based Northwest or some other carrier.</p><p>"I do not come here with any merger intentions," Anderson said Wednesday during a brief appearance in the self-service check-in area kiosk at the Atlanta airport.</p><p>The comments haven't stopped Wall Street from buzzing with talk of the possibility.</p><p>"The question is not if Delta wants consolidation, but will they be a buyer or a seller?" Calyon Securities airline analyst Ray Neidl said in a research note Wednesday.</p><p>Anderson joined Northwest in 1990 as deputy general counsel after working as a prosecutor in Texas. He was named CEO in February 2001, and had a reputation for working in what was virtually a co-CEO arrangement with then-President Doug Steenland, who runs the company now.</p><p>Anderson ran Northwest during one of the toughest periods in the industry's history. The Sept. 11 attacks seven months into his tenure led to a steep drop-off in passenger traffic. That was followed by the Iraq war and SARS scare, which disproportionately hurt Northwest because of its large Asia presence.</p><p>He left Northwest in 2004 and took a job as an executive at Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. He joined Delta's board after it exited bankruptcy on April 30.</p><p>Anderson's knowledge of Northwest and his relationship with executives there, particularly Steenland, could be an impetus for consolidation, analysts say.</p><p>"Having two airline chiefs that understand one another may provide the best opportunity the industry has seen for reaching a friendly deal," Bear Stearns analysts said in a research note Wednesday.</p><p>A hostile bid for Delta by Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways Group Inc. while Delta was in bankruptcy was met with resistance. Delta employees held rallies, sporting buttons that said, "Keep Delta My Delta." Ultimately, the effort was successful, and the US Airways bid was defeated after Delta's unsecured creditors gave the nod to Delta's standalone reorganization plan.</p><p>The camaraderie that developed among Delta employees during the episode was often cited by outgoing CEO Grinstein as a blessing for the company.</p><p>Grinstein had lobbied Delta's board to tap an insider to be his replacement. But the board opted for Anderson.</p><p>Anderson spent part of Wednesday chatting with Delta employees during his airport stop.</p><p>Dennis Brooks, one of many Delta agents working the baggage area in the kiosk, said Anderson seemed genuine.</p><p>"I've been here 28 years and it's the second time a CEO has had a chit chat with me," he said. "I was impressed. He had lots of questions about how everything worked."</p><p>Trippler said that when Anderson took the helm at Northwest, Anderson invited him for a chat to see what Trippler thought about the airline.</p><p>"He got out a pencil and paper and asked me to tell him 10 things people don't like about Northwest," Trippler recalled. "He wrote the points down, folded up the piece of paper and then put it in his pocket."</p><p>Trippler said that Anderson asked him to call him Richard. Anderson also asks reporters to call him by his first name.</p><p>"He puts you at ease immediately," Trippler said.</p><p>Trippler said the Delta board's choice of Anderson to lead Delta could be a sign of things to come at the nation's third-largest airline.</p><p>"Moses was the right guy to lead them out of bondage, but he wasn't the right guy to lead them to the promised land," Trippler said. "Maybe a new person needs to lead them from this point forward."</p><p>Delta shares rose 9 cents to $17.80 in afternoon trading Wednesday. Northwest shares rose 49 cents to $18.24 in afternoon trading.</p><p>___</p><p>AP Business Writer Joshua Freed in Minneapolis and Associated Press Writer Ed Shearer in Atlanta contributed to this report.</p>
