Delta Vacations will change hands for the third time in a year on July 6, when MLT takes over management and operations of Delta's vacation package business from Travel Impressions.
When Travel Impressions' partnership with Delta took effect July 1, it represented a coup that ended Delta Vacations' 28-year partnership with Certified Vacations. But in October, MLT Vacations, a subsidiary of Northwest Airlines that operates NWA WorldVacations, came under Delta ownership when Delta merged with Northwest.
MLT almost immediately began jockeying for the job.
In November, Ken Pomerantz, president and chief marketing officer of MLT Vacations, said, "As the two airlines work to integrate, we're going to be working very closely with our colleagues at Delta to leverage the opportunities that owning a tour operator presents to them."
Last week he confirmed that getting the Delta Vacations contract had been "something that we've been thinking about and working on for a while ... since before the merger was formalized."
In the year since it took over Delta Vacations, Travel Impressions has invested in the operation, based on a prediction by CEO Steve Gorga that it had the potential to increase Travel Impressions' business 10% to 15%.
Asked if Delta's switch to MLT would result in layoffs of people who were hired to handle reservations and sales for Delta Vacations, Gorga said, "I'm hoping it's very minimal, if any." He said he had reached out to Pomerantz to see if MLT would be interested in taking on some of the employees.
Travel Impressions hands over management of Delta Vacations on July 6 and will handle all departures, including travel after July 6, booked until that date.
"The incredible knowledge that my team has gained over the past year is transferable to other parts of the business," Gorga said.
Gorga said Travel Impressions was interested in speaking with other airlines or hotels about creating or managing additional vacation brands.
Carlos Santos, a Delta spokesman, said the carrier "started talking to Travel Impressions when the merger was not a sure thing. ... It was understood that if the merger would happen there was a possibility that the business [would be] brought in-house."
When it takes over Delta Vacations in July, MLT Vacations will have grown from managing just NWA WorldVacations to managing and operating three airline vacation brands; it took over Continental Airlines Vacations from Certified on Nov. 1. In addition, it has a private-label brand, Worry-Free Vacations.
MLT hired between 30 and 40 people in 2008 and is planning to add another 45 to 60 this year.
The company is also adding destinations. In fall, it launched Ireland; Scotland; Huatulco, Mexico; Aruba; and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, for NWA WorldVacations. Each of those was already a destination it offered for Continental Airlines Vacations, and each will also be offered through Delta Vacations, as will St. Lucia, Turks and Caicos and Antigua.
On Feb. 17, MLT added China packages to its NWA WorldVacations and Continental Airlines Vacations roster.
MLT said it planned to announce 10 new destinations in the next several weeks, with a strong focus on the Caribbean and Mexico and a couple destinations in Europe.