Northwest Airlines Corporation (NYSE: NWA) today reported a third quarter 2008 net loss of $317 million, or $1.20 per share.

Shareholders of Minnesota's Northwest Airlines voted yes to a merger with Delta Air Lines at an annual meeting in New York City, the company said Thursday. The airline now awaits word on a vote among Delta's shareholders, which was scheduled Thursday afternoon.

By Jane Roberts Northwest Airlines on Wednesday joined the rest of the industry in reporting significant second-quarter losses due to fuel costs. Northwest lost $377 million, or $1.43 a share, for the quarter ended June 30, compared with a net income of $2.1 billion in the same period last year.

Northwest Airlines (NYSE:NWA) President and CEO Doug Steenland criticized financial speculation in light of today's rapid run-up in oil prices in the final hour of trading and said, "If anybody needed any further evidence that the oil markets are being directly influenced and affected by financial speculation, today's result ends that debate." He added, "With no single event occurring that would cause supply to decrease or demand for oil to increase, the price in the last 20 minutes of trading went up about $5 a barrel as a result of financial players, near the close of trading, coming into the market and driving up price." Steenland, who is also the Chairman of the Board of the Air Transport Association, recently testified in Congress on this issue, and added, "Today's result is the poster child of why Congress needs to take immediate action to change the law and stop these abuses from adversely affecting the U.S.

Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) today announced it will reduce its frontline and management employees by 2,500 as a result of capacity reductions taken to address the unprecedented run-up in oil prices.