Originally posted by Florida Dude
Northwest is going to want to be apart of a Global Alliance, just being with Delta and Continental ain’t gonna cut it, they need broad prospective and i’m pretty sure that being able to stay with KLM and also be apart of an even bigger picture is more in their interest.

Fine, that is a legitimate argument. However, it is conditional on which airline you accept to be the driving force in the alliance. Northwest does not need KLM, their relationship doesn’t necessarily have to be with KLM in the end. If they were to join SkyTeam alone then it would be able to enhance a new relationship with Air France and also with their fruitful US partners so KLM’s importance as a partner is over-estimated. On the contrary, KLM would be out on their own with only limited co-operation with American, therefore, who relies on whom more heavily? In effect it would seem as if Northwest were calling the shots in this alliance and whether KLM chooses to follow them is their call but it is assert that Northwest doesn’t have to follow KLM’s example.