Delta Drops Plan to Link Routes With United

Delta Air Lines Inc. said it dropped plans to link routes with UAL Corp., the cornerstone of a marketing partnership announced in April, after Delta failed to reach an agreement with its pilots. The decision came two weeks after Delta’s board refused to grant voting rights to the pilots union’s existing seat on the board. The pilots said they wouldn’t support linking flights with United--known as code sharing--without voting rights like those that United pilots have on UAL’s board. Delta, the third-biggest U.S. airline, and No. 1 United agreed in April to boost sales at little cost by feeding each other passengers. Analysts said the proposed agreement, which had yet to receive government approval, could be revived. UAL shares rose $2.69 to close at $63 and Delta rose $1.94 to close at $103.81 on the NYSE.