On October 29, 2008, Delta completed its merger with Northwest Airlines to form the world's largest commercial carrier. In February 2009, the airline began consolidating gates and ticket counters at airports where both Delta and Northwest operate. The consolidation was completed February 2010. On December 31, 2009, the Federal Aviation Administration granted Delta's request to allow Delta and Northwest to operate under a single operating certificate.
History
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| Delta Air Lines Lockheed TriStar at Manchester Airport in 1994 |
Main article: History of Delta Air Lines
Formed as Huff Daland Dusters, Incorporated, an aerial crop dusting operation, on May 30, 1924, in Macon, Georgia, the company moved to Monroe, Louisiana in Ouachita Parish in northeastern Louisiana, in 1925, and began acting as a passenger airline in late 1929. Collett E. Woolman purchased the company on September 13, 1928, and renamed it Delta Air Service, with headquarters in Monroe. In the ensuing decades, Delta grew through the addition of routes and the acquisition of other airlines. It transitioned from propeller planes to jets in the 1970s, and entered international competition to Europe in the 1970s and across the Pacific in the 1980s.
Corporate affairs and subsidiaries
Airline operations
Delta, the mainline component of Delta Air Lines, Inc., – serves primarily high-volume domestic flights and long-haul international services.
Comair a regional component of Delta Air Lines, Inc., – serves primarily domestic short to medium haul flights.
Mesaba Airlines – regional component of Northwest acquired in the merger. (Currently owned by Pinnacle)
Compass Airlines – regional component of Northwest acquired in the merger. (Now owned by Trans States)
Future former airline operations
On July 1, 2010, Delta announced it was selling off two subsidiaries, Mesaba and Compass, for $82.5 million to Pinnacle Airlines Corp and Trans States Holdings, respectively.
Aviation business related operations, divisions, and subsidiaries
Comair Holdings, LLC
Comair Services, Inc.
Crown Rooms, Inc.
DAL Aircraft Trading, Inc.
DAL Global Services, LLC
DAL Moscow, Inc., a 50/50 partnership with Aeroflot
Delta Private Jets
Delta Benefits Management, Inc.
Delta Cargo, Delta's air freight division.
Delta Connection, a marketing brand given to flights operated by certain regional airlines on short- to mid-haul, low- to mid-volume routes, "connecting" hubs to airports where the larger "mainline" planes would either have a hard time accessing, go unfilled or too infrequently to be profitable.
Delta Connection Academy, Inc.
Delta Corporate Identity, Inc.
Delta DASH, Delta's same-day small package delivery service, part of Delta Cargo.
Delta Loyalty Management Services, LLC
Delta Shuttle, which operates high frequency, short-haul service using Airbus 319, and Shuttle America's Embraer 175s. The flights operate between LaGuardia Airport and Logan International Airport, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and O'Hare International Airport. Delta Shuttle operates with the same operating certificate, callsign, IATA, and ICAO codes as Delta Air Lines, Inc., unlike Delta Connection branded sub-fleets flown by other certificated regional airlines.
Delta Technology, LLC
Delta Ventures III, LLC
Epsilon Trading, Inc.
Kappa Capital Management, Inc.
Regional Elite Airline Services (formerly announced as Regional Handling Services), a new subsidiary that will ground handle aircraft for Comair, Compass Airlines, and Mesaba Airlines.
Former subsidiaries
ASA Holdings
Song, LLC
Defunct airline brands operated by Delta
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| A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-300 in the old livery, takes off from London Heathrow Airport. (2008) |
Delta Express began service in October 1996 in an attempt by Delta to compete with low cost airlines on leisure-oriented routes. Its main base of operations was Orlando International Airport and it used Boeing 737-200 aircraft. It ceased operations in November 2003 after Song was established.
Northwest Airlines was acquired on October 29, 2008 to form the world's largest airline. After approval of the merger, Northwest continued to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta until December 31, 2009 when both carriers' operating certificates were merged (the Delta certificate survived). Delta completed the acquisition of Northwest on January 31, 2010 when their reservation systems/websites were combined, officially retiring the Northwest Airlines name and brand.
Song began service on April 15, 2003 as a single-class airline operated by Delta to compete directly with JetBlue Airways from both airlines' hubs at New York-JFK. While the brand was considered a successful addition to the Northeast-to-Florida market, financially the airline suffered. On May 1, 2006, Song was folded into the Delta mainline brand. The "Song" entertainment system will remain in place on certain long-haul domestic flights. Additionally, all former "Song" aircraft have been reconfigured to accommodate 26 First/158 Economy passengers. These aircraft are now focused primarily on transcontinental flights from JFK and ATL. Song used Boeing 757 aircraft.
Western Airlines was acquired on December 16, 1986, and was operated as a separate airline by Delta for over three months. In a case by a union to stop the workforce integration, the U.S. Supreme Court wrote "On December 16, 1986, shareholder approval of the merger was confirmed and Western Airlines became a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta." The changeover date for discontinuation of the Western Airlines brand and the date for merger of the two airlines' workforce was April 1, 1987. After the merger, Delta eventually released the name Western Airlines. Delta has maintained Western's former Salt Lake City hub on almost all routes and has added many more destinations; it also uses the former Los Angeles International Airport hub as a gateway to Mexico's vacation destinations, Hawaii, and Australia.
Headquarters
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| Delta Air Lines headquarters in Atlanta |
Delta's corporate headquarters is housed in a corporate campus on the northern boundary of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, within the city limits of Atlanta. This location has served as Delta's headquarters since 1941, when the company relocated its corporate offices from Monroe, Louisiana to Atlanta. In addition to hosting Delta's corporate headquarters, Hartsfield-Jackson is also the site of Delta's Technical Operations Center, which is the airline's primary fleet maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility.
Delta maintains a large presence in the Twin Cities, with over 12,000 employees in the region as well as significant corporate support functions housed in the former Northwest headquarters in Eagan, including the headquarters of Delta Connection and the company's information technology divisional offices.
Hub information
Current hubs
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport - Service has been greatly cut since the merger with Northwest Airlines, but still remains a hub.
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport – Second-largest hub for Delta, also serves as the airline's primary Asian gateway for the East Coast of the United States.
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport – Largest hub for Delta Air Lines, headquarters site.
John F. Kennedy International Airport – Major international gateway hub for Delta.
Memphis International Airport – Delta hub, was originally dismantled but regained hub status after the merger with Northwest.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport – Third largest hub for Delta, former headquarters for Northwest Airlines.
Narita International Airport – Delta's Asian hub.
Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport – One of the two European hubs for Delta. In conjunction with SkyTeam partner Air France.
Salt Lake City International Airport – Fourth largest hub for Delta and is the carrier's westernmost hub in the United States.
Former hubs
Chicago O'Hare International Airport – Delta, until the early 1990s, operated a small hub at Chicago. It served thirteen non-stop destinations from its new Delta Flight Center, which opened in the summer of 1984. During this time Delta also maintained a flight attendant base in Chicago.
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport – Delta at one time operated over 200 flights a day from DFW. At times, it was Delta's third largest hub behind Atlanta and Cincinnati respectively. Delta closed the hub in February 2005.
Frankfurt Airport – Delta's Frankfurt hub was acquired from Pan Am. Delta dismantled the hub in 1997.
Los Angeles International Airport – Delta dismantled its Western Airlines inherited LAX hub in the mid 1990s when it decided to relocate most of those aircraft to the US East Coast. Since that point, it has operated a focus city with a varying portfolio of destinations, of which the hallmark has been flying to Mexico, Florida, and Hawaii. Today, Delta combined maintain an 11% passenger market share with flights to Hawaii, Mexico, Japan, Brazil, Guatemala, and some of Delta's large domestic bases throughout the United States. LAX also remains Delta's sole gateway to Australia.
Orlando International Airport – Delta built up an Orlando hub shortly after the demise of Eastern Air Lines in the early 1990s, and subsequently became the "Official Airline of Walt Disney World". The airport then became the hub for Delta Express and song, before Delta pulled back mainline presence in the mid-2000s. Orlando then became a hub for Delta Connection carriers, with a focus on regional jet point-to-point operations in the southeast. Comair and Chautauqua Airlines closed their Orlando hub operations in 2008.
Former secondary hubs
Memphis International Airport – MEM was a mini-hub in conjunction with regional carrier ASA. This operation ended in the mid-1980s when competition became too stiff with Republic Airlines and ASA shifted its aircraft to Delta's Dallas hub. Delta once again regained its hub status here after its merger with Northwest.
Portland International Airport – Portland, Oregon (PDX) was at one time Delta's main Asian gateway. It was closed in 2001. Northwest Airlines resumed the sole Asian flight from Portland to Tokyo in 2004; the flight is still in operation today under the Delta brand. Delta currently uses Detroit, Michigan (DTW) and Seattle, Washington (SEA) as its main Asian gateways as a result of its merger with Northwest.
Personnel
Between its mainline operation and subsidiaries, Delta employs approximately 75,000 people.
Delta's approximately 12,400 pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The union has represented Delta pilots since 1940. Pilot domiciles are located in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Detroit, Seattle, Memphis, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York City, and Salt Lake City.
The company's approximately 180 flight dispatchers are represented by the Professional Airline Flight Control Association (PAFCA).
The rest of Delta's workforce, in contrast to other legacy air carriers, is nonunion except former Northwest Airlines employees who are currently represented by various Unions pending the outcome of major union elections between Delta and former NWA employees.
On March 18, 2008, Delta announced that it was offering voluntary severance payouts for up to 30,000 employees (though the target headcount reduction is significantly less than that), and that it would cut domestic capacity by 5%.
Destinations
Further information: Delta Air Lines destinations and Delta Connection destinations
Delta operates 1,534 flights per day. Delta Connection has 2,533 daily flights. Delta, Delta Connection, and other flights from the SkyTeam Alliance partners have 6,795 daily flights. Delta, along with British Airways, Emirates Airlines, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, South African Airways, and United Airlines, is one of only nine airlines that fly to all six inhabited continents.
Codeshare agreements
Delta Air Lines has the largest Boeing 757 fleet
Delta Air Lines and Alaska Air Group announced with "Group" "CEO Bill Ayer to amend their marketing agreement" to make Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air the "preferred alliance partners on the West Coast." Delta Air Lines also has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of August 2008:
This list does not include SkyTeam airlines
Air Nigeria
Alaska Airlines
American Eagle
Avianca
China Airlines (SkyTeam from 2011)
Hawaiian Airlines
Horizon Air
Olympic Air
Royal Air Maroc
V Australia
Fleet
Delta Air Lines fleet
Prior to merging with Northwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines had an all-Boeing (including McDonnell Douglas aircraft) fleet. Delta inherited numerous Airbus aircraft in its merger with Northwest Airlines. Delta was one of the last major airlines to operate the original Boeing 737–200 models, until the last of these aircraft were retired in 2006. Delta has the largest fleets of Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 and is the largest US operator of the Airbus A330 aircraft. It is the second largest operator of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (behind American Airlines), the largest operator of the Boeing 767–300, and the larger of the two operators of the 767-400ER (the other being Continental Airlines). The Boeing Customer Code for Delta Air Lines is 32 (i.e. 777-232).
Delta's average fleet age is 14.3 years at October 2010 (due to the exclusion of the DC-9 from statistics).
On December 17, 2010, it was stated that Delta will discuss narrowbody replacement plans in early 2011. Aircraft specifically targeted for replacement include the DC-9s, MD-88s, and older A320 and 757 aircraft.
Cabin
The interior of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-800 with in-flight entertainment and slimline seats
On May 1, 2006, the carrier adopted new uniforms from designer Richard Tyler.
Recycling
Delta started the industry's first comprehensive in-flight recycling program on June 1, 2007. The initial program involved all domestic in-bound flights to its Atlanta hub, and has since expanded to domestic in-bound flights arriving at Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York-LaGuardia, Portland (OR), Raleigh/Durham, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, and Washington-Reagan, as well as its hubs at Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and Salt Lake City. Federal regulations require the incineration of international waste.
As of April 22, 2010 the program has recycled 3.7 million pounds newspaper, magazines, cardboard, plastic cups, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. This equates to:
Recycled volume of paper equivalent to 2,413 cubic yards of landfill space
Recycled enough mixed plastic to “save” 605 barrels (96.2 m3) of oil
Recycled roughly 40 million individual aluminum cans
Raised enough funds to build one Habitat for Humanity Home in Atlanta and a second in Cincinnati, with a third home being planned for 2010.
Delta has also had a carpet recycling program since the fall of 2007 that has diverted 221,000 pounds of worn aircraft carpet from Atlanta area landfills through their partnership with Mohawk Aviation Carpet and Mohawk ReCover program. This equates to 70,899 square yards - the equivalent of 15 acres (61,000 m2) of land or the approximate length of 12 American football fields.
Additionally, Delta has an Employee Recycling Center, which was designed to bring recycling opportunity to Atlanta based employees without access to curbside recycling. The facility also manages recyclables generated within the world headquarters itself. The program has diverted 1.6 million pounds of office paper, cardboard, paperboard, plastic bottles/jugs, aluminum cans and tin cans from local landfills. Since the program started in October 2007, it has:
Earned net proceeds of $10,000 donated to Delta's Employee & Retiree Care Fund - a program which aids Delta families in times of crisis
Recycled volume of paper equivalent to 2,175 cubic yards of landfill space
Recycled enough mixed plastic to “save” 94 barrels (14.9 m3) of oil
Wi-Fi
On August 5, 2008, Delta announced it would be installing the Aircell mobile broadband network, Gogo. This system enables customers traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, to access the Internet, for a fee.
Gogo was initially offered on Delta's fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD88/90 aircraft but has expanded to the remaining domestic fleet of Airbus A319/320, Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 aircraft. Delta has the largest fleet of Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft in the world.
Delta completed Wi-Fi installations on its domestic mainline fleet of 549 aircraft on Nov. 15, 2010. Wi-Fi will be installed on additional aircraft, prior to service, as they are acquired or returned from storage.
A319: 49 of 49
A320: 69 of 69
DC9-50: 34 of 34
MD88: 117 of 117
MD90: 19 of 19
B737-700: 10 of 10
B737-800: 73 of 73
B757-200: 148 of 148
B757-300: 16 of 16
B767-300: 14 of 14
In-flight entertainment
Delta Air Lines 747-400
An Airbus A330-300 painted in New Delta livery
Delta Boeing 767-400ER painted in pink livery for Breast Cancer Research Foundation
In the 1960s audio programming was introduced where passengers wore headphones consisting of hollow tubes piping in music. These were installed in some Delta aircraft. Some early wide-bodied aircraft, including the L-1011 fleet, had films projected on to the cabin bulkhead. The film projection system on the L-1011s was replaced by CRT-based projectors in the early 1990s. Also during the same time period, CRT monitors over the aisles were added to the 757 fleet. The MD-90 introduced Delta's first IFE system with LCD monitors in 1995, and the 777 introduced Delta's first in-seat video system in 1999, initially using the Rockwell Collins Total Entertainment System. Delta's first all-digital IFE system with AVOD (Panasonic eFX) was first introduced in 2003 on Delta's former low-cost subsidiary, Song. The Rockwell Collins IFE system on the 777s was replaced by the Panasonic eFX system in 2007. The Panasonic eFX system is trademarked by Delta as Delta on Demand.
Audio and video are available on all aircraft except for the Airbus A320, McDonnell Douglas MD-88, Douglas DC-9 and some Boeing 757-200s, as well as Delta Connection aircraft. BusinessElite cabins on the internationally-configured Boeing 767-300s, Boeing 767-400 and the Boeing 777-200ER use the all-digital Panasonic eFX AVOD system. Domestic Boeing 767s, Boeing 737-700s, as well as 48 transcontinental Boeing 757-200s and 28 Boeing 737-800s using the Panasonic eFX system, also feature live television via Dish Network in both first class and economy. Delta's new 777-200LR aircraft feature the Panasonic eX2 system (which has a greater storage capacity over the eFX), as well as larger personal video screens. The Airbus A330s and Boeing 747s feature the Panasonic 3000i AVOD system in BusinessElite. On the A330, this AVOD system is also available in economy class.
In economy class, Panasonic eFX system (without the satellite TV product) is also found on the 777-200ER and 767-400ER fleet. The 767-400ER fleet initially featured the Rockwell Collins TES system, but it only featured in-seat video (non-AVOD) in the first class section of the aircraft; the economy class section only featured LCDs over the aisles. This system was phased out in 2009, being replaced by the Panasonic eFX AVOD system when the last of the 767-400ERs were converted from domestic to international use. CRT projectors were originally featured in economy class on Boeing 767-300s, with the international 767-300ERs also featuring ceiling-mounted CRT displays over the aisles, which were replaced by LCD monitors. Some Boeing 737-800s, as well as all Boeing 757-300s and McDonnell Douglas MD-90s feature systems with drop-down LCD displays below the overhead bins.
When Delta's ex-TWA ETOPS 757s were first delivered, they featured a system made by Sony Transcom (a former subsidiary of Sony now sold to Rockwell Collins) system that was factory installed for TWA. The system featured overhead drop-down LCD monitors similar to Delta's non-Transcon 737-800s and MD-90s. Delta replaced the Sony Transcom system with the Panasonic eFX system featuring in-seat video and AVOD at the same time as the new BusinessElite seats and slimline economy class seats were installed.
In the spring of 2010, Delta installed the Panasonic eFX AVOD system in Economy on six 767-300ERs that are used on routes that are 12 hours or longer. Delta also announced it will be installing AVOD in Economy class on 52 767-300ER and all Boeing 747 aircraft over the next 3 years.
On July 27, 2010, it was announced that Delta would be the launch customer of the new eX2 AVOD system with the Eco 9i Integrated Smart Monitor, a new ultra-lightweight IFE system by Panasonic Avionics Corporation. Currently, there are plans to install the systems on the 747-400, 767-300ER, and MD-90 fleets.
Delta Sky Magazine
Delta Sky Magazine, and its online edition at www.deltaskymag.com, are published by MSP Communications in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Travel classes
BusinessElite
BusinessElite symbol on one of its seats
BusinessElite is Delta's international business class, available on the Boeing 767-300ER, 777-200ER, 777-200LR, 767-400ER, and select 757-200 aircraft. Delta's standard recliner BusinessElite seats (made by B/E Aerospace) on Delta's 767-300ER, 767-400ER, and 777-200ER have 60 inches (1,500 mm) of pitch, 160 degrees of recline, and either 18.5 (767) or 21 (777-200ER) inches of width. Passengers in the BusinessElite cabin receive free meals, refreshments, alcohol and an amenity kit. All seats are equipped with a personal, on demand In-Flight-Entertainment (IFE) system, universal power-ports, a moveable reading light, and a folding work table. On the ex-TWA/AA ETOPS 757s, a similar model of BusinessElite seat was introduced in 2008. These seats are off-the-shelf Recaro CL 4420 seats and feature a built-in massage feature, 55 inches of pitch and are 20 inches (510 mm) wide. The BusinessElite seats (former World Business Class seats, also made by B/E Aerospace) on the ex-Northwest Airbus A330 and Boeing 747–400 fleet feature 60 inches (1,500 mm) to 61 inches (150 cm) pitch, 178 degrees of recline (though at a sloped position), and either 20.25 (A330) or 20.5 (747) inches of width.
On March 27, 2007, Delta announced that it will convert its entire 767-400ER fleet to an international configuration, featuring a BusinessElite cabin. During the summer of 2007, 8 out of the 21 767-400ER aircraft were converted and an additional 6 767-400ER aircraft were converted between December 2007 and May 2008.
Delta introduced full-flat sleeper suites made by Contour Premium in its 777-200LR fleet upon delivery and will retrofit its 777-200ER fleet with the Contour full-flat product by 2010.
On February 5, 2008, Delta announced that they will be installing a sleeper suite product on the 767-400ER aircraft. Designed by Thompson Solutions and manufactured by Contour Premium, these sleeper suites use a space-saving design, with the bottom ends of the seats extending under the armrests of the suites in front when in the full horizontal flat bed position. This allows for minimal reduction in capacity compared to most other sleeper suite products, particularly with the 767's narrower fuselage. The suites will be arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, with a total capacity of 40 BusinessElite suites (down from 42). On November 3, 2008, Delta has announced that the 767-300ER fleet will also get the same sleeper suite product that will be first introduced on the 767-400ER fleet.
On January 25, 2010, Delta has also announced they will introduce a flat-bed BusinessElite product to the ex-Northwest 747-400 fleet. On September 2, 2010, Delta announced that the 747-400 fleet will get a completely new model of flat-bed sleeper suite, the Cirrus from Weber.
Domestic First Class
First Class is offered on Airbus A319 and A320, Boeing 737–700, 737–800, 757–200, 757–300 and domestic 767–300, and McDonnell Douglas DC-9-50, MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft. Seats range from 18.5–20.75 inches wide, and have between 37–40 inches of pitch. Passengers aboard this class receive free meals, drinks, and alcohol. All wingleted 737-800s and (Transcon) 757-200 aircraft have power-ports at each seat.
When the ex-AA/TWA ETOPS 757s were first delivered, they initially featured 22 domestic First Class seats that were originally installed by TWA. On international routes, the aircraft were sold entirely as Economy class. All of the ETOPS 757s now feature the new Recaro BusinessElite seats.
International Economy Class
Economy Class is available on all international flights. Seats range from 17 to 18 inches (460 mm) wide, and have between 31 and 33 inches (840 mm) of pitch. A few of the newest 767-300ER and all A330-200, A330-300, 767-400ER, 777-200ER, 777-200LR, and ex-TWA 757-200 aircraft feature economy class seats with moveable headrests. The economy class seats on the 777-200ERs also feature mechanically adjustable lumbar support. The economy seats on the 777-200LRs and ex-TWA 757s are Weber 5751 slimline a high pivot point recline system where the seat bottom moves forward in addition to the seat back tilting backwards when reclining. These seats are better contoured than the Weber 5150 seats on the 777-200ERs and 767-400ERs, allowing for greater passenger comfort, however, they do not feature adjustable lumbar support. In the spring of 2010, the Weber slimline seats were introduced on six 767-300ERs that are used on flights that are 12 hours or longer, and eventually, on the entire 767-300ER and 747-400 fleet.
Domestic Economy Class
Economy Class is available on all domestic flights. Seats range from 17 to 17.5 inches (440 mm) wide, and have between 30 and 33 inches (840 mm) of pitch. Passengers aboard this class receive free drinks and snacks. As part of Delta's EATS buy on board program, food is available for purchase on all flights 1,500 miles (2,400 km) or more (some flights to Hawaii and Alaska continue to receive free meal service). Alcoholic beverages are available for a charge. The 737–700, 737–800 and domestic 767–300 fleet feature the Weber 5751, however, unlike the Weber 5751 slimline seats on Delta's international aircraft, the seats on the 737-700s, 800s, and domestic 767-300s do not feature moveable headrests. These seats will also eventually be introduced on the MD-88 and MD-90 fleet (first being introduced on the ex-Hello MD-90s), however, no dates have been specified as of now.
Delta operated a previous buy on board starting in 2003 and ending by 2005.The previous program had items from differing providers, depending on the origin and destination of the flight. Items on flights to and from Atlanta had items from the Atlanta Bread Company, while flights from other cities had food from Gate Gourmet.
SkyMiles
Delta SkyMiles Logo
SkyMiles is Delta's frequent flyer program. Created in 1981 as the "Delta Air Lines Frequent Flyer Program"; its name was changed to SkyMiles in 1995. When the frequent flyer program was first established in 1981, new members were awarded an enrollment bonus of 10000 miles. In 2006, SkyMiles was picked as the "best frequent flyer program" in the Best in Business Travel Awards.
In addition to its Delta Connection, Delta Shuttle and SkyTeam alliance partnerships, Delta offers frequent flyer partnerships with the following airlines:
Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air
American Eagle (California Routes Only)
Avianca
China Airlines (SkyTeam from 2011)
China Eastern Airlines (SkyTeam from 2011)
Gol Transportes Aéreos
Jet Airways
Kingfisher Airlines (future Oneworld member)
Hawaiian Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Royal Air Maroc
V Australia
On May 1, 1995, Delta Air Lines modified its frequent flyer program. In addition to renaming it "SkyMiles", mileage expiration policies were put in place. Miles from the old program would never expire but newly earned miles in the SkyMiles program would if there was no account activity for three years. Effective January 1, 2007, expiration was triggered by two years of no activity. At the same time, the old Frequent Flyer program miles were combined into SkyMiles, effectively negating their unlimited shelf-life.
On July 31, 2008, Delta adjusted the cost of award tickets by implementing a three-tiered pricing system. For example, a domestic coach ticket costs 25,000, 32,500, 40,000, or 60,000 miles depending on availability.
On January 1, 2009, Delta changed the expiration date of Delta SkyMiles. Previously, the SkyMiles expired at the end of the calendar year following 24 months of inactivity. The new policy causes the SkyMiles to expire immediately after 24 months of inactivity. This change caught many consumers unprepared as they expected the miles would expire at the end of the year and they actually expired mid year.
Sky Clubs
Delta Sky Club Logo
Delta Air Lines' airport lounges are called Sky Clubs. Membership options include one-day, 30-day, annual, and three-year memberships and can be purchased with either money or SkyMiles.
Membership benefits vary by location, but generally include free drinks (including alcoholic beverages), snacks and reading material. Wi-Fi is free for members and is mostly provided by T-Mobile. Other benefits for Sky Club members include reciprocal lounge access with other SkyTeam members and Delta's other partners. As the official airline of the PGA Tour, Delta Air Lines installed putting greens at select Sky Clubs.
Originally, Delta's membership-based airport clubs were called Crown Room lounges, with Northwest's equivalent being WorldClubs.
SkyBonus
Delta SkyBonus Logo
On 27 November 2001, Delta Air Lines launched SkyBonus. SkyBonus is aimed toward small-to-medium businesses spending between $5,000 and $500,000 annually on air travel. Businesses can earn points toward free travel and upgrades, as well as Sky Club memberships and SkyMiles Silver Medallion status. Points are earned on paid travel based on a variety of fare amount paid, booking code, and place origin or destination. While enrolled businesses are able to earn points toward free travel, the travelling passenger is still eligible to earn SkyMiles during their travel.
In early 2010, Delta Air Lines merged their SkyBonus program into Northwest's similar Biz Perks program.
Advertising
Slogans
Delta has had many slogans:
1940: Airline of the South
1961: The Air Line with the Big Jets
In 1966, with the introduction of the first Series 61 DC-8, Delta adopted the slogan "Fly big to Florida... Fly Delta!". Bob Hope, known in ads as Bob "Super DC-8" Hope, was Delta's spokesperson at the time.
1968: Delta is ready when you are"
1972: Fly the best with Delta
1976: Celebrate the Bicentennial with Delta
1980: Delta is the Best
1984: Delta gets you there with care
1986: The Official Airline of Walt Disney World
1987: The Best Get Better, reflective of the airline's merger with Western Airlines
1987: We Love To Fly, And It Shows
1989: The Official Airline of Disneyland and Walt Disney World
1991: Delta is your choice for flying
1994: You'll love the way we fly
1996: On top of the world. This slogan was launched at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for which Delta was the official airline
2000: "Fly___", in which the blank was filled in according to the context of the slogan's usage. For example, on the airline's cocktail napkins, the slogan was "Fly 'refreshed'". For luggage tags, the slogan read "Fly 'for business'" or "Fly 'me home'".
Immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Delta adopted the slogan, "Delta remembers America".
In 2004, Delta adopted a marketing scheme using "Secret Places – ___", in which the blank was filled in according to the picture being used in the advertisement (and coinciding with a major Delta destination). Several examples of this marketing remain in place on jetways and in gate waiting areas in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and New York-JFK.
2005: Good Goes Around"
2007: Delta Air Lines exited bankruptcy. To highlight changes, the airline chose "Change Is:__________" (in which the blank was filled according to the context of the slogan's usage) as its slogan. Other advertisements used the tagline "Change Is: Delta" in a play on the use of the Greek letter delta to denote the difference operator in mathematics.
In and around Atlanta there are advertisements promoting Delta as the "Official Airline of the Braves Unofficial Airline of the World". Also "Make Every Game a Home Game" is used.
After the merger with Northwest, both airlines adopted "One Great Airline" and "Together In Style".
2010: "Keep Climbing" campaign is launched in NYC in select media outlets and onboard Delta aircraft. Donald Sutherland is the 'voice' of Delta in the television ads.
Sponsorships and awards
Delta served as the official airline of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, and is also the official airline for the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Utah Jazz, PGA Tour,and Cirque du Soleil
Delta also underwrote the last few seasons of the PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and the first season of its spinoff, Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?
Delta awards the annual Delta Prize for Global Understanding in conjunction with the University of Georgia.
Delta is the winner of the 2009 Gay.com Travel Awards in the Favorite Airline category. Competitors include: American Airlines, Virgin America, JetBlue, and Southwest Airlines.
EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz, was originally known as the Delta Center. Delta held the naming rights to the arena from 1991 to 2006. Delta continues to be an official sponsor of the team, however.
Delta sponsored the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Delta is the official airline for High Museum of Art. Delta has added the image of a moustache to a Boeing 757 aircraft as part of the airline’s sponsorship of an upcoming exhibit of the work of Spanish artist Salvadore Dalí at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art.
As of 2009, Delta is the official airline and a Signature Partner of Madison Square Garden and all of its properties, including: the New York Knicks, the New York Rangers, the New York Liberty, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Beacon Theatre (New York City), the Chicago Theatre, and the Wang Theatre in Boston.
Was named the "Wendell Brown of Airlines" in 2010 for the 17th consecutive year.
Popular Culture
As part of the rebranding project a safety video featuring a flight attendant premiered on YouTube in early 2008 garnering over 1 million views and the attention of news outlets, specifically for the video's camp and cheeky tone mixed with the serious safety message. The flight attendant, Katherine Lee, has been dubbed "Deltalina" by the media for her resemblance of movie star Angelina Jolie. Delta had considered several styles for its current safety video, including animation, before opting for a video presenting a flight attendant speaking to the audience. The video was filmed on a Boeing 757.
In a special edition of The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2007, Ellen filmed a unique segment called "Ellen on a Plane" entirely on board a Boeing 767, showcasing the new Delta Air Lines.
Web interactions
There are several news sources:
Official Delta blog
Official Twitter page
Official YouTube channel
Flickr Photostream
Incidents and accidents
The following are major incidents and accidents that occurred on Delta Air Lines mainline aircraft. For Northwest Airlines incidents, see Northwest Airlines Incidents and Accidents. For Delta Connection incidents, see Delta Connection incidents and accidents.
Delta Air Lines Reported Incidents
Flight Date Aircraft Location Description Casualties
Fatal Serious Minor Uninjured Ground
N/A April 22, 1947 DC-3 Columbus, Georgia A Vultee BT-13, owned by the Tuskegee Aviation Institute landed on top of the DC-3, which was flying from Macon to Columbus. 8 1
705 March 10, 1948 DC-4 Chicago Midway Airport Crashed near Chicago Municipal (Midway) Airport shortly after takeoff while en route to Miami. Officials determined that longitudinal control of the airplane was lost resulting in the crash. The cause for the loss of control remains undetermined. 12 1
318 May 17, 1953 DC-3 Marshall, Texas Crashed 13 miles (21 km) east of Marshall, Texas. The flight which originated from Dallas Love Field was on approach to Shreveport, Louisiana. The crash was attributed to adverse weather conditions with a thunderstorm in the area. 19 1 1
1903 May 23, 1960 Convair 880 Atlanta Crashed during a training exercise in Atlanta. The aircraft stalled and crashed killing all four crew members. 4
9877 March 30, 1967 DC-8 New Orleans Crashed during a training exercise near New Orleans International Airport. The improper use of flight and power controls by both instructor and the Captain-trainee during a simulated two-engine out landing approach, resulted in the loss of control. The aircraft crashed into a residential area, destroying several homes and a motel complex, killing 13 civilians. 6 13
9570 May 30, 1972 DC-9 Greater Southwest International Airport Crashed during landing procedures in Fort Worth, Texas. The probable cause of the accident was wake turbulence resulting from a touch-and-go landing moments before of American Airlines Flight 1114, operated using a DC-10. The right wing hit the ground causing a fire resulting in the aircraft being written off. 4
954[90] December 20, 1972 Convair 880 Chicago O'Hare Int'l Airport The Delta CV-880 taxied across runway 27L in bad weather. At the same time, a North Central Airlines DC-9 took off from the same runway. The aircraft collided. 94 10
723 July 31, 1973 DC-9 Boston Logan International Airport Crashed in seawall. Contributing to the accident was a defective flight deck instrument giving the crew misleading guidance during the instrument approach in visibility less than a half mile with 500-foot (150 m) cloud ceilings. 89 occupants died including Leopold Chouinard , died from burns months after the accident, leaving no survivors . 89
516 November 27, 1973 DC-9 Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Crashed into approach lights during a thunderstorm 4 75
191 August 2, 1985 Lockheed L-1011 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport On a Fort Lauderdale-Dallas/Fort Worth- Los Angeles route, the plane crashed due to severe microburst-induced wind shear. One civilian was killed as the plane crossed a highway. The crash would later become the subject of a television movie. Numerous changes to pilot wind shear training, weather forecasting, and wind shear detection were made as a result of this crash. 134 15 12 2 1
37 July 8, 1987 Lockheed L-1011 North Atlantic Ocean Near collision with a Continental 747. Both the Delta (London-Cincinnati) and Continental (London-Newark) were heading to the U.S. with nearly 600 people total on both aircraft. The Delta flight strayed 60 miles (97 km) off course during its flight and came within 30 feet (9.1 m) of colliding with the 747 as the L-1011 flew under it in Canadian airspace. It was nearly the deadliest aviation accident in history. 0 0 0 All 0
1141 August 31, 1988 Boeing 727 Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Crashed after takeoff bound for Salt Lake City, Utah. Officials believe the crash was contributed to by improper configuration of the flaps and leading edge slats. 14 26 50 18
1288 July 6, 1996 MD-88 Pensacola Regional Airport An uncontained engine failure of the port (left) engine on the aircraft which resulted in a fan hub piercing the cabin. The flight was scheduled to fly to Atlanta 2 2 3 135 0
1989 September 11, 2001 Boeing 767-300 Enroute from Logan International Airport Flight 1989, bound for Los Angeles International Airport was caught in the path of United Airlines Flight 93. The two aircraft were so close that ATC were initially confused as to which plane had been hijacked. The Delta pilot managed to avoid United 93 and the flight was later diverted to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. 0 0 0 All 0
129 February 3, 2002 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 Dublin Airport Flight 129 from Atlanta skidded off the runway at Dublin Airport in high winds. The port engine of MD-11 N803DE had severe damage 0 0 0 All 0
For the December 25, 2009, attempted terrorist attack on an Airbus A330 by a Nigerian al Qaeda member, see Northwest Airlines Flight 253.
Hijackings
There have been over a dozen attempted hijackings which resulted in no injuries and the surrender of the often lone hijacker. These incidents are not included. The following are notable hijackings because of fatalities or success in forcing the aircraft to fly to another country:
In 1968, a Delta DC-8 was hijacked to Havana, Cuba. This was the first successful hijacking to Cuba from the U.S. since 1961, and was the start of multiple hijacking attempts to Cuba in the late 1960s. This coincided with the introduction of passenger screening using metal detectors in U.S. airports starting in the late 1960s.
Additional hijackings which resulted in no injuries and the flight landing in Cuba include March 28, 1984 (Delta 357 New Orleans-Dallas 727), August 18, 1983 (Delta 784 Miami-Tampa 727), July 17, 1983 (Delta 722 Miami-Tampa 727), June 11, 1979 (Delta 1061 New York LaGuardia-Fort Lauderdale L1011)
July 31, 1972, a Delta Flight 841, a Detroit to Miami DC-8 flight, was hijacked to Algiers, Algeria by 8 hijackers. The aircraft stopped in Boston to pick up an international navigator, who was wearing only swimming trunks and a shirt. The flight was allowed to return with passengers to the U.S., stopping in Barcelona for refueling.
On February 22, 1974, Samuel Byck, an unemployed tire salesman from Pennsylvania, stormed aboard a Delta Air Lines Flight 523, DC-9 flight at Baltimore Friendship Airport (now Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport) scheduled to fly to Atlanta and shot both pilots, killing the First Officer, Fred Jones. He intended to crash the plane into the White House. After shooting the pilots, the hijacker grabbed a passenger and demanded that she fly the aircraft.
On August 23, 1980, a Delta Air Lines L-1011 on a San Juan to Los Angeles flight was hijacked to Cuba. The hijacker was jailed by Cuban authorities, and all passengers were released unharmed.
On September 13, 1980, a Delta Air Lines New Orleans to Atlanta flight was taken over by two hijackers and forced to fly to Cuba. The flight continued to Atlanta after stopping in Havana. The hijackers were imprisoned by Cuban authorities. One hijacker was released and later sought US residency. The suspect was later arrested by US authorities in 2002 and sentenced to prison the following year.
(source:wikipedia)
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