In 2005, service to Asia was expanded as Continental introduced daily nonstop service between Newark and New Delhi, India. The success of this Newark-New Delhi route presaged establishment of a second gateway in India with the announcement of daily nonstop service to Mumbai. With the establishment of Mumbai service, Continental offers the most nonstop flights by any carrier from the United States to India. By May 2006, the carrier's passenger traffic surpassed that of Northwest Airlines, and Continental became the fourth-largest U.S. carrier. "The Wall Street Journal" reported on December 12, 2007 that Continental was in merger discussions with United Airlines. Of issue would be Continental's golden share held by Northwest Airlines and the divestiture of Continental's Guamanian hub. A deal was not "certain or imminent", with the talks being of a preliminary nature. In April 2008, at the height of oil prices, Northwest announced a merger with Delta Air Lines. This allowed Continental to buy back the golden share from Northwest Airlines, which it did. Continental then renewed merger talks with United Airlines, but broke them off again that same month.