Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day. The airline's hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic (88 million passengers per year) and number of landings and take-offs. Delta is the sixth-oldest operating airline by foundation date, and the oldest airline still operating in the United States. Delta is a founding member of the SkyTeam alliance. The airline's regional service is Delta Connection.

On October 29, 2008, Delta acquired Northwest Airlines to form the world's largest airline in terms of scheduled passengers carried. It is the world's largest airline in terms of fleet size, but the world's second largest airline in terms of passenger traffic.

History


Formed with a Huff-Daland Duster, the first true crop duster, the plane was deployed to combat the boll weevil in 1925 and was nicknamed “The Puffer” due to the clouds of white pesticides it emitted. Delta Air Corporation owned the plane (now in the Southern Museum of Flight), eventually ferrying single passengers from one Southeastern state to another (a chair for the passenger was placed in the bin where the pesticide was usually kept). Delta Airlines was born 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 carrying passengers in late 1929. Collett E. Woolman purchased the company on September 13, 1928, and renamed it Delta Air Service, with headquarters in Monroe. Delta grew through the addition of routes and the acquisition of other airlines. It replaced propeller planes with jets in the 1960s and entered international competition to Europe in the 1970s and across the Pacific in the 1980s. The company logo of Delta Air Lines, reminiscent of the swept-wing design of the DC-8 airplanes, consists of two 3D triangles.

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)

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" aircraft would be unviable.
 * 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 A319, 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

Sale of Mesaba Airlines and Compass Airlines

 * 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.

Defunct airline brands owned by Delta



 * Chicago and Southern Airlines was acquired in 1953, and Delta flew under the carrier name of Delta-C&S for the next two years.
 * 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.
 * Northeast Airlines was acquired in August 1972.
 * 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' hub 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. 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; Delta then retired the Western Airlines name. Western's former Salt Lake City hub has become a major Delta hub, and Delta uses Los Angeles International Airport as a major gateway to Mexico's many vacation destinations, Hawaii, and Australia.

Headquarters and offices


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 Minneapolis area, including the headquarters of Mesaba Airlines and the company's information technology divisional offices.

Branding
Delta's current livery, "Upward & Onward", uses four colors. It features a triangle on each aircraft's vertical stabilizer, to refer to Delta's origins as a carrier in the Mississippi Delta.

The previous livery, "Colors in Motion," used eight colors. Delta introduced its current branding in 2007, after it emerged from bankruptcy. The switch from the previous livery to the current livery removed one day from each aircraft's painting cycle, allowing the airline to save money. The airline took four years to repaint all of its aircraft into the current scheme, including aircraft inherited from Northwest Airlines. The triangle logo (known internally as "the Widget"), was introduced on in 1959. It was not part of the "Colors in Motion" livery, but returned with the current livery.

Current hubs


Delta operates seven domestic hubs (with an eighth opening July 11, 2012) and three international hubs.

Although not considered hubs, Los Angeles, Washington Reagan, Tampa, Miami, Hartford, Baltimore, Orlando, Indianapolis, Boston, Chicago O'Hare, Raleigh-Durham, Seattle, and Grand Rapids have large Delta operations. Delta is cutting all non-hub flights to and from Washington Reagan on July 10, 2012.
 * Amsterdam Airport Schiphol – One of the two European hubs for Delta, in conjunction with SkyTeam partner KLM.
 * Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport – Service has been greatly cut since the merger with Northwest Airlines, but still remains a hub. Delta's smallest hub.
 * Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport – Acquired in the merger with Northwest Airlines, DTW is Delta's second-largest hub and 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.
 * LaGuardia Airport - Delta's newest hub, created as a result of the slot swap with US Airways. Opening July 11, 2012.
 * Memphis International Airport – Delta hub, was originally dismantled but regained hub status after the merger with Northwest. On March 22, 2011, Delta announced plans to trim its Memphis hub by 25%, mostly eliminating flights to smaller destinations served by its regional affiliate Comair.
 * Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport – Third largest hub for Delta, former headquarters for Northwest Airlines.
 * Narita International Airport – Delta's Asian hub, acquired in the merger with Northwest Airlines.
 * 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 – Western Airlines' Salt Lake City hub operations were continued after Delta purchased Western Airlines in 1987. The Salt Lake City hub is Delta's westernmost hub and fourth largest 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 acquired its Frankfurt hub from Pan Am, who sold the remainder of its Atlantic Division to Delta upon bankruptcy, including the Worldport at John F. Kennedy Airport. 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. Orlando today is served by Delta Connection carriers: ExpressJet and Comair with nonstop flights to Miami, Grand Rapids, and Raleigh/Durham, as well as mainline service to Atlanta, Boston, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Detroit, Los Angeles, Memphis, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, and Salt Lake City. Mainline service to Hartford/Springfield and Washington-National as well as Delta Connection service to Washington-National have been terminated.

Former secondary hubs
Delta has closed two secondary hubs due to changing business needs.


 * 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 80,000 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).

Aside from the pilots and flight dispatchers, all other Delta Air Lines employees, in contrast to other legacy air carriers, are nonunion, which now includes the former Northwest Airlines unions, after a vote for unionization which involved former Northwest employees was rejected in early 2009 by 52.5 percent of those voting.

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%.

Employee relations
Delta’s historic approach to employee and labour relations involved an implicit commitment to high wages, lifetime employment and a ‘family’ culture. The intention was to substitute union representation and induce high levels of service and commitment from its employees. This approach discouraged employees from unionizing with the exception of pilots and dispatchers. For many years it has helped Delta maintain a reputation for delivering high-quality service.

Destinations


Delta operates 4,932 flights per day. Delta Connection has 2,533 daily flights. Delta, Delta Connection, and other flights from the SkyTeam partners have 13,000 daily flights.

Delta Air Lines, along with Air France, British Airways, Emirates, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, and United Airlines, is one of the few airlines that fly to all six inhabited continents.

Top served cities
As of February 2012.

Codeshare agreements
In addition to SkyTeam partners, Delta Air Lines also has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of September 2011:

Air France-KLM joint venture
Inherited from the Northwest-KLM relationship, Delta has a transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. The program covers coordinated transatlantic operations in terms of ticket pricing, schedules, capacity, and revenue. On 27 January 2012, the European Commission launched an investigation into the impact of the joint venture on competition on the routes that it covers.

Fleet


Delta operates a fleet of more than 700 aircraft manufactured by Airbus, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas. The carrier operates the largest fleets of Boeing 757, Boeing 767 and Airbus A330 aircraft of any US airline. Delta operates the largest fleet of MD88 and MD90 aircraft in the world, and was one of the last major airlines to operate the original Boeing 737-200 models, which were retired in 2006. Prior to its 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta's fleet was made up of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft; Northwest's Airbus aircraft joined the fleet after the merger. As of April 14, 2011, all of Delta's mainline aircraft have been painted in the carrier's latest livery.

, the average age of the Delta fleet was 15.1 years excluding grounded aircraft and those operated by contract carriers. The oldest aircraft in the fleet are the McDonnell Douglas DC9-50s with an average age of 33 years and the McDonnell Douglas MD-88s with an average age of 20.7 years. To replace the DC-9s, MD-88s, and older A320 and 757-200 aircraft in their fleet, Delta began discussing narrowbody replacement plans with manufacturers such as Airbus, Boeing and Bombardier in early 2011. On August 22, 2011, it was announced that Delta has placed an order for 100 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft and deferred an order of 100 small narrow-body jets until 2012.

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. Pricing varies based on length of flight and/or length of pass. Gogo was initially offered on Delta's fleet of McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft but has expanded to the remaining domestic fleet of Airbus A319 and A320, as well as Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft.

Delta has the largest fleet of Wi-Fi-equipped aircraft in the world.

In November 2010, Delta announced that it would be bringing Wi-Fi service to its two-class regional jets operated by Delta Connection carriers. The expansion will include the CRJ700, CRJ900 and E170/175 fleets, 255 aircraft in all, and is scheduled to be completed by spring 2012.

In-flight entertainment and AVOD
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 inherited from the former Northwest Airlines and McDonnell Douglas MD-90s, as well as Delta Connection aircraft. BusinessElite cabins on the internationally-configured Boeing 767-300ERs, Boeing 767-400ER and the Boeing 777–200ER use the all-digital Panasonic eFX AVOD system. Domestic Boeing 767–300s, Boeing 737–700s, as well as 48 transcontinental Boeing 757–200s and 30 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 fleet, 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, 767-400ER, and select 767-300ER aircraft. 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 have since replaced by LCD monitors. Some Boeing 737-800's, as well as all Boeing 757–300s 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 757-300s. 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 and Weber Aircraft LLC]]. Currently, there are plans to install the systems on the 747-400, 767-300ER, and MD-90 fleets. A different version of the Integrated Smart Monitor is also being developed by Panasonic Avionics Corporation and BE Aerospace for the Airbus A330 fleet.

Delta plans on replacing the overhead CRT monitors on the pre-merger 757-200 fleet with new LCD monitors.

Delta Sky Magazine
Delta Sky Magazine, and its online edition at www.deltaskymag.com, are published by MSP Communications in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

BusinessElite
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 (B/E Aerospace Millennium recliners) on Delta's 767-300ER fleet have 60 inches (1,500 mm) of pitch, 160 degrees of recline, and 18.5 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. The conversion was completed in 2009.

Delta introduced full-flat sleeper suites made by Contour Aerospace Limited in its 777-200LR fleet upon delivery, and the 777-200ER fleet have also been retrofitted with them in 2011.

On February 5, 2008, Delta announced that it would be installing a sleeper suite product on the 767-400ER aircraft. Designed by Thompson Aero Seating and manufactured by Contour Aerospace Limited, these sleeper suites (Vantage) 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. As of June 2011, all 767-400ERs have been retrofitted with the Thompson Vantage seats in BusinessElite. The 767-300ER fleet is expected to be completed in 2013; the first aircraft entered service on August 5, 2011

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. On February 7, it was also announced that the ex-Northwest Airbus A330 fleet will also get the Weber Cirrus sleeper suites by 2013.

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. Some CRJ-700s and CRJ-900s, and Embraer 175s operated by Delta Connection carriers also have First Class. Seats range from 18.5–20.75 inches wide, and have between 37–40 inches of pitch. Passengers aboard this class receive free snacks, drinks, and alcohol, with full meal service on flights 600 miles and longer. All 737-800s, MD-90s, (Transcon) 757-200, and (domestic) 767-300 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 ex-TWA ETOPS 757s have now been converted to international configuration and feature Recaro CL 4420 BusinessElite recliner seats.

Economy Comfort Class
Economy Comfort was launched June 1, 2011 across Delta's entire fleet of transoceanic aircraft (B747-400, B757-200 ETOPS, B767-300ER, B767-400ER, B777-200ER/LR and A330). The seats have 35 inches (890 mm) of pitch, 50 percent more recline over standard economy seats, and are distinguished by a gray headrest with embroidered 'Economy Comfort' branding and red seat row placard. Additional amenities include priority boarding in Zone 2, free spirits as well as free HBO programming. Customers can upgrade from standard economy class seats for $80–$160 USD one-way and various elite levels of SkyMiles members can access the seats with discounted pricing or complimentary upgrades. The product more closely aligns Delta's offerings with its Transatlantic joint venture partners; KLM also offers an Economy Comfort section of its Economy cabin.

On October 20, 2011, Delta announced plans to expand Economy Comfort to all domestic mainline aircraft (MD-88, MD-90, B737-700, B737-800, B757-200, B757-300, A319, and A320) and two-class regional jets (CRJ-700, CRJ-900, E-170, and E-175).

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 seats on the 777-200ERs, 777-200LRs, ex-TWA 757s, and six 767-300ERs are Weber 5751 slimline which have a high pivot point recline system where the seat bottom moves forward in addition to the seat back tilting backwards when reclining. In the spring of 2010, the Weber 5751 slimline seats were introduced on six 767-300ERs that are used on flights that are 12 hours or longer, and will eventually be installed on the entire 767-300ER and 747-400 fleet. A new model of slimline seat (B/E Aerospace Pinnacle) is planned for the A330 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 slowly be introduced on the MD-90 fleet.

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.

Frequent flyer program


"SkyMiles" is the name of Delta's frequent flyer program.

Sky Clubs
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 guests 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. 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
On November 27, 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.

Slogans
Delta has had many slogans throughout its history:
 * 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.

Fleet
Delta Air Lines was presented an award by the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Design for the Environment (DfE) program for the airline's use of PreKote, an environmentally friendly, non-hexavalent chromium surface pretreatment on its aircraft. PreKote Surface Pretreatment is a Pantheon Chemical product and replaces hazardous chemicals traditionally used to improve paint adhesion and prevent corrosion. In addition, PreKote reduces water usage by two-thirds, significantly reduces wastewater treatment and cuts process time.

The environmentally friendly product is also improving Delta’s bottom-line by putting aircraft back in the air sooner. With time improvement of eight to 10 percent, Delta estimates it will save more than $1 million annually by reducing the overall turn time for painting aircraft.

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 Metro, 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

Sponsorships and awards

 * Delta served as a corporate sponsor in the early 1980s at Six Flags Astroworld for the area atmosphere music. After the music loop completed one loop, an announcement would play that Delta was sponsoring the music in the air.
 * 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, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, and Cirque du Soleil
 * Delta Air Lines was ranked the No.1 airline in the USA for passenger numbers in 2009.
 * 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 Salvador 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.
 * Delta is the official airline for the Grammy Awards for the 4th consecutive year.
 * In 2011 Delta was named the "Most-Admired" airline of Fortune Magazine.
 * Also in 2011, Delta is the official airline for the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team.
 * In August 2011, Delta continued its push into New York City by securing its first arts sponsorship. The deal, with the Whitney Museum, makes Delta the official and exclusive airline of the Museum.

In 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, was dubbed "Deltalina" by a member of the FlyerTalk internet bulletin board for her resemblance to 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. Lee reportedly married in March 2012.


 * 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.

Online resources
There are several news sources about Delta Air Lines:
 * Official Delta blog
 * Official YouTube channel
 * Flickr Photostream
 * 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.

Although Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was listed as a Northwest Airlines flight, the aircraft bore the Delta livery and was operating as a Delta flight during the transitional period after the merger; it was therefore reported in some media as a Delta flight.

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.