For the first time in public, a Delta Air Lines official said Wednesday the Atlanta-based carrier is pursuing a combination with Northwest Airlines and discussed Delta's rationale.

Lee Macenczak, Delta's executive vice president of sales and customer service, told Gwinnett County business leaders at a luncheon today that rising fuel prices, increased global competition and customer demand are driving his company's pursuit of Northwest.

"When we talk to our global customers, they tell us that we need to be able to deliver a global product to them," he said.

Delta is already North America's leading carrier to Europe, and the No. 2 to Latin America, he said. And in recent years it has beefed up flights to the Middle East and the African subcontinent.

The one area that lacked a significant Delta presence is Asia, he said.

Northwest, which has a strong Asian presence, would complete Delta's global strategy, he said.

"We want to be the global airline of choice," he said.

Delta also investigated United Airlines, he said, but that Northwest makes the most sense because of what it would add and the lack of overlap elsewhere.

Though speculation and news reports about a Delta-Northwest negotiations have been rampant for months, neither side has publicly acknowledged the talks. Officials have only said they were considering various strategic options, including potential mergers.

However, Macenczak cautioned the deal was not done, and that Delta could remain independent and still survive.

"We believe we have a great stand-alone plan," he said. "No matter what happens on the merger front, the Delta stand-alone plan is something we sold to our creditors and they believed in it."

Macenczak said he wouldn't take a deal getting done for granted until he gets an official call and reads it in the media.

He recounted how he was dispatched to Salt Lake City on Super Bowl Sunday in 1998 to announce a merger with Continental Airlines the following day. He arrived only to be told to come back — the deal was dead.