Delta Now Wants to Buy Only Portions of Pan Am

NEW YORK —  Deciding against a possible merger, Delta Air Lines said Friday that it would be interested in purchasing only parts of Pan American World Airways, which is operating under bankruptcy protection.

Delta, which is based in Atlanta, said it was interested in acquiring the lucrative Pan Am shuttle, which operates between New York and Boston and New York and Washington. Delta said it would also be interested in purchasing Pan Am’s transatlantic routes, its hub in Frankfurt, Germany, and associated aircraft and facilities. The routes that Delta wants to buy amount to 21% of Pan Am’s daily flight schedule.

Delta said it would employ several thousand of the Pan Am workers involved in the operations that it wants to buy.

Delta spokesman William Berry said, “Pan Am came to us some time ago, and we have spent a considerable period of time looking at whether it is wise and possible for Delta to acquire Pan Am as an airline.” But Delta concluded that it was not interested in buying the entire airline.

Pan Am Chairman and Chief Executive Thomas G. Plaskett said he was “pleased to learn that Delta has indicated a strong interest in acquiring, as a package,” some of the airline’s operations. He said Delta should submit a definitive proposal “as soon as practicable, which will be considered along with other proposals currently being evaluated.”

Pan Am, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, has been up for sale for some time. Once America’s flagship airline, it has been selling assets for a decade. It disposed of its Far Eastern routes, its hotel chain, its landmark headquarters in mid-town New York City and other facilities.

In a separate development, United Airlines said it will make an announcement Monday that will have a “dramatic impact on Orlando and Florida,” and one report said the carrier plans to announce a major hub serving the Southeast.

Chicago-based United confirmed that it would make an announcement after Aviation Daily, an industry newsletter, reported that the carrier will open its fifth domestic hub in Orlando.