Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines (
OTC Pink Sheets: DALRQ) is a major U.S.
airline headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia, operating a large domestic and international network that spans
North America,
South America,
Europe,
Asia, the
Middle East and the
Caribbean. Although
North American Airlines operates some scheduled services to
Africa, when non-stop Delta flights begin in December 2006 to
Dakar,
Senegal (from where direct flights will continue to
Johannesburg,
South Africa) and
Accra,
Ghana, Delta will become the only major U.S. airline to serve that continent.
Delta operates hubs at
Atlanta (the world's busiest airport)[
1],
Cincinnati,
New York-JFK, and
Salt Lake City. Delta also has large operations in many other cities, including
Boston,
Fort Lauderdale,
Los Angeles,
New York-LaGuardia,
Orlando, and
Washington-Reagan. Delta is also the leading carrier in
Florida. Its major international gateways are Atlanta, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, and New York-JFK.
Delta currently has the largest route network "footprint" of any airline[
2]. In terms of passengers carried (approximately 119 million in 2005)[
3], Delta is the second-largest airline in the world (behind
American Airlines). In terms of total operating revenues, Delta is the fourth-largest airline in the world (behind
Air France-KLM, American Airlines, and
United Airlines) Effective June 29, 2006, Delta (including its wholly owned subsidiary
Comair, Inc.), served 240 domestic cities and became the first airline to host operations in all 50 U.S. states[
4]. The airline also serves
Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, in addition to 96 countries.
Delta awards the annual
Delta Prize for Global Understanding in conjunction with the
University of Georgia.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is
incorporated under the laws of the State of
Delaware.
As of 2006, the directors of Delta Air Lines are:
*
John F. Smith, Jr., Chairman
*
Gerald Grinstein, CEO
*
Edward H. Budd *
Domenico De Sole*
David R. Goode*
Patricia L. Higgins*
Arthur E. Johnson*
Karl J. Krapek*
Paula Rosput Reynolds*
Kenneth B. Woodrow As of July, 2006, Delta employees numbered approximately 47,000.[
5]
Services
Delta operates two fleet brands:
*
Delta, the "mainline" brand, serves primarily long-haul, high-volume flights and most international services.
*
Delta Shuttle operates short-haul, high frequency service in single-class configuration
McDonnell Douglas MD-88s between Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Defunct airlines operated by Delta:
*
Delta Express began service in
October,
1996 in an attempt by Delta to compete with low cost airlines on various leisure-oriented routes. Its main base of operations was
Orlando International Airport and it used
Boeing 737 aircraft. It ceased operations in
November,
2003 after being replaced by Song.
*
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. As a result, on May 1, 2006, Song was folded in to the Delta mainline brand, and "Song" class-of-travel service will remain in place on certain long-haul domestic flights, in some ways competing directly with
United Airlines'
"p.s." service for transcontinental flights.
Separate regional airlines operate feeder flights, under brand-marketing and
code share agreements, primarily to Delta hub cities under the
Delta Connection banner. These airlines include wholly-owned subsidiary
Comair, as well as independent carriers
Chautauqua Airlines,
Shuttle America (both subsidiaries of
Republic Airways Holdings),
SkyWest (a subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc.),
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (a former Delta wholly-owned subsidiary acquired by SkyWest, Inc. in 2005), and
Freedom Airlines (a subsidiary of
Mesa Airlines).
American Eagle, the regional subsidiary of
American Airlines, operates some flights in southern California codeshared as Delta Connection flights.
Early history
|
Delta timetable from 1934 |
|
Delta Boeing 747 at London Heathrow Airport in May 1974. |
The company has its roots in
Huff Daland Dusters, which was founded in 1924 in
Monroe, Louisiana by several partners including
Collett E. Woolman becoming the world's first aerial crop dusting company. Huff Daland moved to
Monroe, Louisiana the following year. In
1928,
Huff Daland Dusters was purchased by C.E. Woolman and renamed
Delta Air Services after the
Mississippi Delta, where its route connected
Dallas, Texas to
Jackson, Mississippi, via
Shreveport, Louisiana and
Monroe. By
1934, Delta Air began mail service from Charleston to Fort Worth, including Atlanta, Augusta and other stops in Georgia.
In 1941, Delta moved its headquarters from
Monroe to
Atlanta, Georgia, to center itself along its new route network that connected
Chicago and
New Orleans to
Florida and
Ohio which would later become a Delta hub. In the 1950s, Delta began flights from New Orleans to the Caribbean and Venezuela, becoming the number 2 U.S. carrier in the region after
Pan Am and
Braniff. On May 1, 1953, Delta merged with Chicago and Southern to expand routes in the midwestern United States. In 1955 Delta introduced the "hub and spoke system" whereby flights are routed to a central point then sent out to other cities. By the early 1960s, Delta's route network stretched to the West Coast, and
Dallas was emerging as its second hub city.
Delta was the launch operator of the
DC-8, which began service in 1959, and the
Convair CV-880 in 1960. The DC-8's graceful swept-wing design inspired Delta to come up with a new logo which incorporated a new red, white, and blue triangle logo (the "widget"). Just a few years later, Delta became the launch operator of the
DC-9. By 1970, Delta was an all jet aircraft airline.
1970s and 1980s
In 1970, Delta entered the "wide-body" jet era with the purchase of five
Boeing 747s to service its new long-haul high density routes. However, Delta found no need for them and sold them a few years later. Shortly thereafter, Delta leased a small number of
DC-10s as a stopgap until its larger order of the new
Lockheed L-1011 TriStars could be delivered.
Delta purchased
Northeast Airlines in 1972 to strengthen its market share in the northeastern
United States. Through the purchase, Delta began its long
Boeing 727 operation.
In 1973 the Lockheed TriStar entered service for Delta. Delta placed these aircraft in international service from Atlanta to
London in 1978;
Frankfurt was added the following year. Delta's fast growth showed in August 1979 when it became the first airline in the world to board one million passengers in one city in one month (
Atlanta).
Delta launched its first frequent flyer program in 1981 which became the SkyMiles program in 1995. In 1982, Delta took delivery of their first 767-200, named the
Spirit of Delta, which was paid for "by voluntary contributions from employees, retirees and Delta's community partners." The effort, called Project 767, was spearheaded by three Delta flight attendants to show the employees' appreciation to Delta for solid management and strong leadership during the first years following airline deregulation." [
6] The airplane remained the flagship of the Delta fleet until 2006, and was repainted in a commemorative paint scheme and toured the country to celebrate the airline's 75th anniversary in 2004. [
7]
In 1984 the company established its
Delta Connection partnership linking local "feeder" airlines that served mid-size population areas to Delta nodes. The same year, Delta began its first flight to
Hawaii (
Honolulu International Airport) with L-1011 aircraft. Also in 1984, Delta began to offer the nation's first public air-to-ground telephone system with
Airfone, on the L-1011. Delta was named 'Official Airline of
Walt Disney World' in 1986, and their official ride in the Magic Kingdom was
Delta Dreamflight.
In 1987, Delta merged with
Western Airlines of
Los Angeles and absorbed its large hubs at
Salt Lake City and
Los Angeles. Through these acquisitions and expansions Delta became the fourth largest U.S. carrier and fifth largest world carrier.
1990s
In 1990, Delta became the first U.S. airline to operate the
MD-11 aircraft. Delta's most dramatic expansion came with its purchase of
Pan Am's European routes in 1991 which included all north Atlantic routes and the Frankfurt, Germany hub, shortly before Pan Am declared bankruptcy. The purchase gave Delta the largest transatlantic route network which stands to today, and a small group of
A310 aircraft that were retired after a few years. Thanks to these acquisitions, Delta became and remains today the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, in terms of passengers carried and number of flights operated. Delta also acquired Pan Am's northeastern shuttle, taking delivery of a number of
Boeing 727s, later replaced by 737-800s and 737-300s. This became today's
Delta Shuttle.
In 1993 Delta established a
codesharing arrangement among other airlines, giving the company access to more destinations. By 1997 Delta began large expansions into
Latin America and in 1999 introduced the
Boeing 777 into its fleet, greatly increasing possibilities to longer non-stop services.
Throughout the 1990s, Delta maintained a secondary hub at
Portland for its Asia operations. In addition to regularly scheduled flights to Delta's primary hubs during this time (Atlanta, Cincinnati,
Dallas, and Salt Lake City), several of Delta's flights to Asia were routed from Portland and Los Angeles, using L-1011 and MD-11 aircraft. Destinations included
Bangkok,
Fukuoka,
Hong Kong,
Nagoya,
Seoul,
Taipei, and
Tokyo. Delta was one of the airlines targeted in the failed
Operation Bojinka plot: the conspirators planned to bomb a Delta
MD-11 flying from Seoul to Bangkok via Taipei on
January 21,
1995. Today, all Asia operations from Portland, Los Angeles and New York have ceased, and Delta's Asia service is provided exclusively from Atlanta.
In 1996, Delta carried the
Olympic Torch from
Athens, Greece where it was lit, to
Los Angeles, CA for its traditional circuit to the
Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, GA for the
1996 Summer Olympic Games. The torch was lit in Athens and was carried to L.A. still lit.
In 1999, Delta was a founding partner of the online travel agency
Orbitz, which was purchased by
Cendant in 2004.
2000 saw the creation of
SkyTeam, a global alliance, initially partnering Delta with
AeroMéxico,
Air France and
Korean Air. Three years later, Delta implemented the largest domestic codeshare alliance with
Continental Airlines and
Northwest Airlines, and
SkyTeam is now the second largest airline alliance in the world. Currently, membership is made up of
Aeroflot,
Aeroméxico,
Air France-KLM,
Alitalia,
Continental Airlines,
Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines,
Korean Air, and
Northwest Airlines. Delta also has codesharing agreements with
Aeroflot,
Air Jamaica,
Avianca,
China Airlines,
China Southern,
El Al Israel Airlines,
Royal Air Maroc,
South African Airways, and domestic partners
Alaska Airlines,
American Eagle,
Continental Airlines,
ExpressJet Airlines,
Horizon Air,
Mesaba Airlines,
Northwest Airlines, and
Pinnacle Airlines.
2000 and beyond
Fleet transformation
In an effort to simplify its fleet and capitalize on cross-platform compatibility not only in pilot training but also maintenance, the airline began to retire its trijets in favor of twinjets:
*The
Lockheed L-1011, for many years the workhorse of the Delta fleet, was replaced in 2001 with the
Boeing 767-400 (which was, in fact, designed by
Boeing as a specific replacement for Delta's and
Continental's L-1011 and DC-10 fleets, respectively).
*The airline's many
Boeing 727s were completely replaced with
Boeing 737-800's in
2003.
*Delta operated its last
MD-11 flight on
January 1,
2004, operating as Flight 56 from New Tokyo International Airport (now
Narita International Airport) at 4:45pm. The aircraft arrived in Atlanta at 3:20pm. This concluded the MD-11's relatively short service in the fleet.
MD-11 aircraft have been replaced with
Boeing 777-200ERs. On September 23, 2004, a Delta spokesperson confirmed plans to sell eight MD-11s to
FedEx.
Delta's entire active fleet is now comprised of twinjets, and the airline is the world's largest operator of
767 aircraft.
Continuing Delta's fleet transformation efforts, the airline plans to retire four more aircraft types, and in the past two years, the airline has retired its fleet of
Boeing 737-200, -300, and
767-200 aircraft. There are reports[
8] that Delta plans to eliminate its
MD-88 or
MD-90 fleet.
Replacement aircraft are currently unknown, although it is expected that the MD-88 or MD-90 will be replaced by a Boeing 737 family aircraft, probably the 737-800. However, in August 2005, Delta
announced the 737-300s operating their
Delta Shuttle services would be replaced by nine MD-88s from their discontinued
Dallas hub and from
Salt Lake City, with a consequent rise in capacity (14 seats per aircraft) and provision of premium services on those routes.
On
September 7,
2005, Delta announced that it had struck a deal whereby
Ohio-based
ABX Air Inc. will purchase 11
Boeing 767-200 aircraft from Delta, adding to the one previously purchased through a similar arrangement made in July 2005. The new agreement calls for
ABX Air to take delivery of six of the eleven aircraft in calendar year 2006, two in 2007 and three in 2008, with payment due upon the delivery of each aircraft. The total deal is worth $190 million. Delta donated the company's first 767-200, The
Spirit of Delta to the
Delta Heritage Museum. The Spirt of Delta was retired on
March 3,
2006 after a farewell tour around the United States. After 2008, when through these arrangements all other 767-200 aircraft will have been sold, the two remaining 767-200s will be sent to the same desert storage location where the majority of the company's
L-1011's are located.
On
July 13,
2006, Delta signed an agreement with
International Lease Finance Corporation to lease ten Boeing 757s currently operated by
American Airlines and formerly by
Trans World Airlines, which American Airlines intends to drop once the leases expire due to the fact that they use
Pratt & Whitney PW2000 engines instead of
Rolls-Royce RB211 engines [
9]. Unlike most of Delta's 757s, the ex-TWA 757s are
ETOPS-rated, which means that they can be used on routes such as from the West Coast to Hawaii, or on low-yielding transatlantic routes from
John F. Kennedy International Airport in
New York City.
During an
August 3,
2006 meeting of Delta employees at the airline's hub in Cincinnati, Delta Air Lines chief operating officer Jim Whitehurst announced that Delta plans to purchase the
Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner between 2008 and 2010 [
10]. This move coincides with Delta's plans to expand internationally, including to additional destinations in
Asia.
Dire straits
As early as 2004, in an effort to avoid
bankruptcy, Delta had announced a restructuring of the company that included job cuts, as well as plans for expansion of Atlanta operations by some 100 new flights, making it a 'super-hub' and requiring the airline to spread its flight schedule more evenly across the day. Further, by mid-2004 the airline had announced it would be closing its fourth busiest hub (
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport), which it did on
January 31,
2005. However, 2005 was a year of struggle for the airline, as evidenced by major overhauls in pricing and route systems, as well as financial deals considered by many in the industry and press as desperate.
On
January 5,
2005, Delta introduced SimpliFares, a radical transformation of its fare structure, which cut its most expensive fares by as much as 50 percent nationwide and capped one-way domestic fares at $499 in coach class and $599 first class. However, due to continued high fuel costs, the company was forced to raise these fare caps by $100 in July, 2005, to $599 in coach class and $699 in first class. It also launched a system of "same-day confirmed" whereby for $25, a passenger is able to confirm a seat on a different flight instead of standing-by.
Also in 2005, Delta applied to serve a daily non-stop flight from
Atlanta to
Beijing,
China starting in March, 2006, but rights were instead awarded to
American Airlines operating from
Chicago, and
Continental Airlines out of
Newark.
On
August 15,
2005, in an SEC filing, Delta announced that it had finalized a deal to sell Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines for $425 million in cash to SkyWest Airlines in an effort to obtain money to avoid bankruptcy. Analysts called the move a desperate one, estimating ASA's worth at around $700-$800 million â€" a price which SkyWest would not have been willing to pay.
On
September 7,
2005, Delta announced that it would cut 26% of its flights at its
Cincinnati hub and redeploy aircraft to its hubs in
Atlanta and
Salt Lake City. The move will ultimately eliminate up to 1,000 jobs in Cincinnati. In addition and in hopes of increasing profit yields, the airline announced further international expansion into
Europe and
Latin America.
Bankruptcy
Unfortunately for the airline, none of these actions could prevent a bankruptcy filing, and on
September 14,
2005, Delta filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the first time in its 76-year history. The company cited high labor costs and record-breaking
jet fuel prices as factors in its filing. At the time of the filing, Delta had $20.5 billion in debt, $10 billion of which accumulated since January 2001.
Northwest Airlines' bankruptcy filing on the same day added grist to months of speculation that the two airlines might merge. A major challenge in such a scenario however, would be that unlike Delta, Northwest has failed to simplify its fleet in any meaningful way and as a result, the two airlines' fleets are almost completely dissimilar.
The future
On
September 22,
2005, Delta announced the acceleration of restructuring activities, targeting an additional $3 billion per year in cost reductions by 2007. $970 million of this amount will come from debt relief, lease and facility savings, and previously commenced fleet modifications. Non-union workers' salaries will be reduced by a minimum of 9% across the board, with a 15% reduction for executive officers and a 25% pay cut for CEO Gerald Grinstein. Additionally, the company plans to lay off between 7,000 and 9,000 of its 52,000 employees.
As for its route network, Delta plans to alter its structure by reinforcing hub presence in Atlanta, Cincinnati, New York, and Salt Lake City, while at the same time increasing point-to-point routes, reducing domestic capacity by up to 20% while growing more profitable international route capacity up to 25%.
On
February 24,
2006 Delta, along with
Continental Airlines and
FedEx, saw future operations to
Venezuela severely affected by
President Hugo Chávez's decision to restrict flights coming into that South American country from the United States [
11]. As of
March 23,
2006, U.S. and Venezuelan aviation authorities were able to negotiate a solution to their dispute, likely ensuring that Delta's operations to Venezuela will not be curtailed in the future.
On
March 7,
2006, Delta announced expanded service from its prominent hub at New York-JFK. In addition to the expansion of mainline service at the airport, Delta will partner with
Mesa Air Group to provide regional flights throughout the northeast under the Delta Connection banner. At the same time the airline announced an expansion to a number of new cities from its Salt Lake City hub.
On
June 16,
2006, the airline announced that it would seek in bankruptcy court permission to terminate its pilot pension plan, a move similar to that taken by both
United Airlines and
US Airways as those airlines struggled to reorganize under bankruptcy protection.
Based on all of these new initiatives, Delta projects a return to profitability by late 2007, based on a crude oil price model of $66 per barrel, in contrast to other bankrupt carriers' restructuring modeled on $55 per barrel.
Advertising
Delta has had several different slogans throughout its history:
* In 1940, Delta adopted the
slogan: "Airline of the South".
* In 1961, Delta adopted the slogan: "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.
* In 1968, Delta adopted the slogan: "Delta is ready when you are".
* In the interim period between
1984 and
1986 Delta adopted the slogan: "Delta gets you there".
* In 1986, Delta became: "The Official Airline of
Walt Disney World".
* In 1987, Delta adopted the slogan: "The Best Get Better", reflective of the airline's merger with
Western Airlines.
* In 1987, Delta adopted the slogan: "We Love To Fly, And It Shows".
* In 1989, Delta became: "The Official Airline of
Disneyland and
Walt Disney World".
* In 1994, Delta adopted the slogan: "You'll love the way we fly".
* In 1996, Delta adopted the slogan: "On top of the world". This slogan was launched at the
1996 Summer Olympics in
Atlanta, for which Delta was the official airline.
* In 2000, Delta adopted the slogan: "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 used onboard, the slogan was "Fly
refreshed".
* 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.
* In 2005, Delta adopted the slogan: "Good Goes Around".
Hub history
Former primary hubs:*
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport*
Los Angeles International Airport Former secondary hubs:*
Frankfurt International Airport*
Portland International AirportDelta operates 1,632 flights per day[
12]. Including pending and confirmed routes to
Mexico,
Central America,
Africa and
South America, Delta expects a 124% growth in the Latin American market, positioning the airline solidly as the #3 US carrier to and from
Latin America.
In one of its more ambitious initiatives, on
February 9,
2006, Delta announced its intention to expand to Africa, with non-stop flights from Atlanta to
Dakar,
Senegal and from Dakar to
Johannesburg, South Africa [
13], and non-stop flights from New York JFK Airport to
Accra,
Ghana on
June 19,
2006. This routing was approved by the United States government, making Delta the only major U.S. airline to offer non-stop service to Africa. In addition, by the end of 2006, Delta will be the only U.S. airline to serve
Ghana,
Greece,
Hungary,
Russia,
Senegal,
South Africa,
Turkey, and
Ukraine.
Delta is expected to announce an expansion of its focus city at
Los Angeles in the coming days with service to ten new destinations in Mexico, as well as
Guatemala City,
Las Vegas,
Liberia, Costa Rica,
Oakland,
Sacramento,
San Francisco, and
San Jose, California.
Delta operates an all-
Boeing (including
McDonnell Douglas aircraft) fleet. Delta's
Boeing customer number is 32, i.e. 757-2
32, 737-8
32, 767-4
32. Delta has abolished three-class seating for international flights, replacing first and business class with a single premium class called "BusinessElite" beginning in 1999 (with its
MD-11 and 767-300ER fleet). Currently, this hybrid class can be found on all 777-232ER and 767-300ER aircraft. By the end of 2006, some of Delta's 767-432ER aircraft will also have BusinessElite seating instead of First Class. First and economy class still exist on all other aircraft types.
The average age of Delta's fleet, as of March 2006, was 13.1 years. However, this average age reflects the fact that Delta still flies one of the original Boeing 737 models (737-200); these aircraft are in the process of being retired and replaced with next-generation 737 aircraft (Delta's 737-832 fleet including orders and options). Excluding the 737-232 fleet, the average age of the airline's fleet is 11 years.
Among all airlines, Delta has the largest fleet of
Boeing 767 aircraft. Delta is also the second largest operator of the
McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (behind
American Airlines) and the
Boeing 757 (also behind
American Airlines).
The Delta fleet below does not include Delta Connection aircraft.
The Delta fleet as of
March 31,
2006 from the Delta Web Site: [
14]
| Seats | Routes |
|---|
| Boeing 737-200 | 24 | 100 (8/92) | Low capacity short-range domestic routes (mostly out of Cincinnati) |
| Boeing 737-800 | 71
(50 on order) | 150 (16/134) | Medium- to long-range domestic routes, Caribbean |
| Boeing 757-200 | 121 | 183 (24/159) or
199 (0/199, ex-Song) | Medium- to long-range domestic routes
Caribbean, Latin America, Atlanta-Florida routes |
| Boeing 767-300 | 24 | 252 (24/228) | High-capacity medium- to long-haul domestic routes,
Latin America, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Atlanta-Florida routes |
| Boeing 767-300ER | 59 | 204 (36/168) | Most transatlantic routes, South America, Some domestic routes |
| Boeing 767-400ER | 21 | 285 (36/249) | High-capacity medium- to long-haul domestic routes, Hawaii,
Some high-capacity transatlantic routes, Atlanta-Florida routes. |
| Boeing 777-200ER | 8
(5 on order) | 268 (50/218) | High-capacity and long-range transatlantic routes,
Transpacific routes, Occasionally on domestic routes |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-88 | 120 | 142 (14/128) or
134 (0/134, Shuttle) | Short- to medium-range domestic routes, Delta Shuttle |
| McDonnell Douglas MD-90 | 16 | 150 (12/138) | Short- to medium-range domestic routes (mostly out of Salt Lake City) |
Delta Air Lines was one of three carriers (
American Airlines and
Continental Airlines being the other two) to sign an exclusivity agreement with Boeing in the late 1990s. When Boeing acquired
McDonnell Douglas, the
European Union forced Boeing to void the contracts. However, both parties have been adhering to and intend to adhere to the terms under a
gentlemen's agreement.
Retired jet fleet
Information on the
Convair CV-880,
Douglas DC-9-10, and
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 were found in archives at the
Delta Heritage Museum in
Atlanta, Georgia.
*Delta operated the DC-10 twice, once on lease from United before the L-1011s could be delivered, and again when Delta acquired Western Airlines in 1987.
**Delta experimented with Airbus aircraft for two years after acquiring the planes from Pan Am.
Delta Air Lines Fleet prior to the jet era Up until the late 1960s, Delta Air Lines operated a fleet of propeller operated aircraft, including among others, the
Convair 340,
Convair 440, Curtiss
C-46 Commando,
Douglas DC-3,
Douglas DC-4,
Douglas DC-6,
Douglas DC-7,
Fairchild Hiller FH-227,
Lockheed Constellation, and
Lockheed L-100 Hercules. The Curtiss
C-46 Commando and
Lockheed L-100 Hercules aircraft were operated as cargo aircraft.
SkyMiles is Delta's frequent flyer program. Created in 1981 as Frequent Flyer Program, its name was changed to SkyMiles in 1995.Delta also operates the Crown Room Club, a membership lounge with locations at various domestic and foreign airports. Its members have reciprocal lounge access with other
SkyTeam members and Delta's other partners.
Delta also is an airline partner of
Skywards, the frequent flyer program for
Emirates and
Sri Lankan Airlines. Skywards members can earn miles for flying Delta, and vice versa.
*Note: This section is for major accidents only.
On
July 13,
1973,
Flight 173, operated on a
DC-9 airplane, crashed into a
seawall at Boston's
Logan International Airport, causing the deaths of all 83 passengers and 6 crew members on board. One of the passengers initially survived the accident but died in a hospital.
On the afternoon of
August 2,
1985,
Flight 191, on a
Fort Lauderdale-
Dallas/Fort Worth-
Los Angeles route, crashed at
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, killing 133 of the 167 passengers and crew on board due to severe
microburst induced
wind shear. The crash would later become the subject of a television movie. (
Voice recorder)
On
August 31,
1988,
Flight 1141, bound from
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to
Salt Lake City International Airport, crashed after take-off due to improper configuration of flaps and leading edge slats. (
Voice recorder)
On
July 6,
1996,
Flight 1288, experienced an uncontained engine failure during the initial part of its takeoff roll at
Pensacola Regional Airport in Pensacola, Florida, causing pieces of the engine to penetrate the cabin, killing two of the 137 passengers.
Delta has not had a major incident since then.
*
Delta Center*
Delta Air Lines*
Delta's official SkyMiles website*
Delta Air Lines Fleet Age*
Delta Air Lines Fleet Detail*
Delta Air Lines Route Maps*
Delta Air Lines Seat Maps and Seat Reviews*
Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum*
Sky, Delta's inflight magazine
(
This list does not include Skyteam members)
*
Air Jamaica*
Alaska Airlines*
Avianca*
China Airlines*
China Southern*
El Al*
Royal Air MarocVirtual airlines
*
Delta Virtual Airlines
