Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines

IATA ICAO Call sign DL DAL Delta
Founded	1928 (as Delta Air Service)
Hubs	Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Salt Lake City Int'l Airport Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Int'l John F. Kennedy International Airport
Focus cities	Los Angeles Int'l Airport Logan International Airport Orlando International Airport LaGuardia Airport
Frequent-flyer program	SkyMiles
Alliance	SkyTeam
Fleet size	519
Destinations	470
Parent company	Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Headquarters	Atlanta, Georgia
Key people	John F. Smith, Jr. (Chairman), Gerald Grinstein (CEO), Jim Whitehurst (COO), Edward Bastian (CFO),
Website	http://www.delta.com

Delta Boeing 757-232 at Los Angeles International Airport in August 2003, showing the livery the airline instituted in 2000.

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (OTC Pink Sheets: DALRQ) (IATA: DL, ICAO: DAL, call sign: Delta) 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. As of December 2006, Delta will become the only major U.S. airline to serve the continent of Africa.

Delta operates hubs at Atlanta (the world's busiest airport), Cincinnati, New York-JFK, and Salt Lake City. Delta also has large domestic operations in many other cities, including Boston, Columbus, Fort Lauderdale, Hartford, Las Vegas, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, Raleigh, Tampa, and Washington-Reagan. Delta is also the leading carrier in Florida. Its major transatlantic gateways are Atlanta, Cincinnati, and New York-JFK. Its major Latin American gateways are Atlanta and its rapidly developing mini-hub in Los Angeles.

Delta currently has the largest route network "footprint" of any airline. In terms of passengers carried (approximately 119 million in 2005), 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 only airline to host operations in all 50 U.S. states. 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 July, 2006, Delta employees numbered approximately 47,000.

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.

History

Early history

File:Delta timetable.JPG

Delta timetable from 1934

File:Delta.b747.anet.arp.750pix.jpg

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 Macon, Georgia 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 Service after the Mississippi Delta, where its route connected Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport, Louisiana and Monroe. By 1934, Delta began mail service from Charleston to Fort Worth, with stops in Columbia, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Meridian along the way.

In 1941, Delta moved its headquarters from Monroe to Atlanta, to center itself along its new route network that now stretched to Chicago, Miami, and New Orleans. On May 1, 1953, Delta merged with Chicago and Southern Air Lines to procure its first international routes from New Orleans to Havana, Cuba and Caracas, Venezuela as well as an increased presence in the Midwest. 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." 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.

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. Also in 1987, Ronald W. Allen became chairman and CEO.

1990s

In 1990, Delta became the first U.S. airline to operate the MD-11 aircraft. Delta's most dramatic expansion (at that time) 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, a small group of A310 aircraft that were retired after a few years and the Worldport (Terminal 3) at JFK. 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, inheriting 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, during which Leo Mullin was named CEO, 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. During Mullin's tenure, Delta saw large expansions into Latin America and the Caribbean. This was also known as Delta's "technological growth period". Airport kiosks were introduced, Delta Technology was developed into an industry leading technology division, gate information display screens (GIDS) were rolled out and internal software was thoroughly revamped. However, Mullin's legacy was ruined by labor woes, huge losses in the post-9/11 period, a major executive compensation scandal, and a bankruptcy filing less than 18 months after he abruptly retired.

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 only Asia service consists of Atlanta to Tokyo.

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, of which Delta was the official airline. 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 Air Jamaica, Avianca, China Airlines, China Southern, El Al Israel Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, and domestic partners Alaska Airlines, American Eagle, ExpressJet Airlines, Horizon Air, Mesaba 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 composed 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 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 Spirit 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 were located prior to sale.

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. 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. In addition to the ten ex-TWA 757s leased from ILFC, Delta has also signed on October 25, 2006 an agreement with Pegasus Aviation Finance Company to lease three additional ex-TWA ETOPS 757s.

In addition to acquiring ex-TWA 757s, Delta has also announced on October 17, 2006 that they intend to have their 24 domestic non-ER Boeing 767-300s ETOPS-rated by 2007 , opening them up to destinations such as Hawaii and northwestern Europe, thus freeing Boeing 767-400ER aircraft for longer-range international destinations.

Delta Air Lines has become the US launch customer for Boeing’s 777-200LR and will take delivery of two General Electric GE90-powered ultra long range widebodies in early 2008. The two -200LRs are converted from a 777-200ER order previously placed with Boeing.Bring the total to 10 777-200LR aircraft

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. Delta is planning to seek approval for flights from Atlanta to Beijing starting 2008.

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 — 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

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 . 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 May 1, 2006, the carrier adopted new uniforms from designer Richard Tyler.

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.

On September 5, 2006, Adlai Hardin, the Judge overseeing Delta's Chapter 11 restructuring granted its motion seeking bankruptcy court approval to terminate its pilot defined benefit pension plan. Because the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), the federal agency charged with insuring the nation's pension plans, has the responsibility for plan termination under ERISA, Delta must secure the pension agency's approval before the pilot plan can be terminated.

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.

Delta has recently announced that coach travelers in the United States who have a flight longer than four hours will have on demand programming on all those flights starting in 2007 at their main hubs in New York, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta. This will counteract other airlines like JetBlue Airways who offer inferior entertainment. Delta claims to offer the leading in-flight entertainment system in the United States. Live programming and mp3 music are free, and movies will be available on demand for a nominal fee in coach, and for free in first class. . Delta also intends to install an improved in-flight entertainment system on internationally-configured aircraft, featuring a personal selection of movies. The system will be installed in all classes on Boeing 767-400ER and 777-200ER aircraft, and in the BusinessElite section on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft .

On November 9, 2006 the airline announced that they will recall 1,000 flight attendents that were previously laid off.

In mid-2007, Delta will feature docking capability for Apple Computer's iPod portable music and video player. This will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with Delta's In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. This will also enable the IFE system to play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, as well as function as a control system.

Proposed merger with US Airways

On November 15, 2006, Bloomberg reported that US Airways Group, the parent of US Airways, proposed a takeover of Delta for USD 8 billion in cash and stock. However, Delta's CEO reiterated that the best interests of Delta and its creditors are served by the company emerging from bankruptcy as an independent, stand alone carrier. In the ensuing days, Delta has mounted an aggressive defense against the takeover attempt. With this takeover being proposed by USAirways, Delta employees worldwide are coming together to "Keep Delta My Delta" .

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, 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 and New York-JFK.
• In 2005, Delta adopted the slogan: "Good Goes Around".

Hub history

Former primary hubs:

• Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
• Los Angeles International Airport (LAX will become a secondary hub in December, 2006)

Former secondary hubs:

• Frankfurt International Airport
• Portland International Airport

Destinations

Further information: [[:Delta Air Lines destinations]]

Delta operates 1,632 flights per day. 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 #2 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 , 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 2007, Delta will be the only major U.S. airline to serve Austria, Ghana, Hungary, Romania, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Arab Emirates.

On August 15, 2006, Delta announced a major expansion of its focus city at Los Angeles 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. As of October 1, 2006, Delta has announced further expansion of LAX with announced service to Managua, New Orleans, Puerto Vallarta, Jacksonville, and Reno, NV.

Delta Air Lines, Salt Lake City International Airport and the French government are reportedly in negotiations to establish nonstop service between Salt Lake City and Paris — Charles de Gaulle beginning as early as summer 2007.

Delta will begin service from Atlanta to Dubai, Atlanta to Vienna, Atlanta to Seoul, New York-JFK to Bucharest, and New York-JFK to Pisa for the Spring/Summer 2007.

Fleet

Delta operates an all-Boeing (including McDonnell Douglas aircraft) fleet. Delta's Boeing customer number is 32, i.e. 757-232, 737-832, 767-432. 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. Also, Delta is in the process of refurbishing all international aircraft. These new changes feature leather seats, and In-Seat In-Flight-Entertainment screens. Transformation should be complete by the end of this year. Delta announced on October 10 2006 that it would be the first U.S. carrier to offer true lie-flat sleeper suites in International Business Class beginning in early 2008 with its new Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. Delta would be the first U.S. airline to operate 777-200LRs. Beginning in late 2008, Delta will add sleeper suites to the rest of its 777 aircraft. Delta also announced that it will also offer a lie-flat option on its 767 aircraft. This is expected to be completed by 2010.

Delta was one of the last major airlines to operate the original Boeing 737-200 models, until the last of these aircraft retired in 2006. Delta has the largest fleet of Boeing 767 aircraft of any airline. It is the second largest operator of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series and the Boeing 757 (behind American Airlines in both cases).

The Delta fleet below does not include Delta Connection aircraft.

Delta's has an all-Boeing fleet. The fleet age for Delta Air Lines is 13 years which comprises the following aircraft as of November 2006: [1]

Delta Air Lines Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (First*/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Boeing 737-800	82 (50 Orders)	150 (16/134)	US and Caribbean Routes	Short-Long Haul Domestic Routes
Boeing 757-200	134	183 (24/159) 184 (26/158) 199 (All Economy Ex-Song)	Caribbean, Latin America, Puerto Rico, Atlanta to Florida, and US Transcontinental Routes as Vienna	Medium-Long Haul Domestic Routes 13 additional ex-TWA ETOPS aircraft will enter service in 2007
Boeing 767-300	24	250 (24/226)	Latin America, Puerto Rico, Atlanta to Florida, and US Transcontinental Routes	Medium-Long Haul Domestic Routes
Boeing 767-300ER	59	214 (36/178)	South American and Most Transatlantic Routes as Vienna	Medium-Long Haul International and Domestic Routes
Boeing 767-400ER	21	A:285 (36/249) Domestic B:241 (41/200) International	Some Transatlantic, Hawaii, Atlanta to Florida, and US Transcontinental Routes	Medium-Long Haul International and Domestic Routes
Boeing 777-200ER	8 (3 Orders)	268 (50/218)	Atlanta to Los Angeles, Atlanta to New York (JFK), Transpacific and Transatlantic Routes	Long Haul International Routes Occasional Domestic Routes
Boeing 777-200LR	(2 Orders)	TBA	Atlanta to Dubai, Seoul, South Korea, Middle East and Asia	Entry To Service: 2008 Long Haul International Routes To Be Equipped With Lie-Flat Sleeper Suites First U.S. Airline to Operate 777-200LRs
McDonnell Douglas MD-88	120	142 (14/128) 134 (134) (Delta Shuttle)	US and Delta Shuttle Routes	Short-Medium Haul Domestic Routes
McDonnell Douglas MD-90	16	150 (12/138)	US Routes (mostly from Salt Lake City)	Short-Medium Haul Domestic Routes

^{* First Class is offered on Domestic Flights. BusinessElite is offered on Transatlantic/Transpacific Flights.}

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 Fleet

Delta Air Lines Retired Fleet

Aircraft	Year Retired	Replacement	Notes
Convair CV-880	1973	Boeing 727-200	Short-Medium Haul Domestic Routes
Boeing 747-100	1976	Lockheed L-1011	Medium-Long Haul International Roues
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10	1977/1989*	Lockheed L-1011 / McDonnell Douglas MD-11	Medium-Long Haul International Routes
Douglas DC-8	1988	Boeing 757-200	Medium-Long Haul International and Domestic Routes
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30	1992	McDonnell Douglas MD-80	Short Haul Domestic Routes
Airbus A310-200/300	1994-96**	Boeing 767-300ER	Medium-Long Haul International Routes
Lockheed L-1011	2001	Boeing 767-400ER	Medium-Long Haul International and Domestic Routes
Boeing 727-200	2003	Boeing 737-800 and, partially, Boeing 757-200	Short-Medium Haul Domestic Routes
McDonnell Douglas MD-11	2004	Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 767-400ER	Medium-Long Haul International and Domestic Routes
Boeing 767-200	2006	indirectly by Boeing 757-200 and Boeing 767-300	Medium-Long Haul Domestic Routes
Boeing 737-300	2006	indirectly by McDonnell Douglas MD-88	Short-Medium Haul Domestic Routes
Boeing 737-200	2006	indirectly by McDonnell Douglas MD-88	Short Haul Domestic Routes

File:SRQ 9-15 007.jpg

Delta Boeing 727-200 at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport in July 2002, one year before retirement.

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 A310 aircraft for two years after acquiring the planes from Pan Am. Initially Delta was impressed enough with the aircraft to order more of the same model, but these too were eventually withdrawn from service by the mid 1990s.

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

SkyMiles is Delta's frequent flyer program. Created in 1981 as Frequent Flyer Program, its name was changed to SkyMiles in 1995.

Crown Room Club

Delta 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.

Locations

Delta operates 43 Crown Room Clubs at the following 34 locations:

Atlanta (7) Boston (2) Chicago O'Hare Cincinnati (2) Dallas/Ft. Worth Denver Frankfurt Ft. Lauderdale Honolulu Jacksonville Kansas City, MO London Gatwick

Los Angeles Miami Munich Nashville New Orleans Newark New York Kennedy New York LaGuardia Orlando Philadelphia Phoenix Raleigh-Durham

Salt Lake City San Diego San Francisco San Juan, PR Santiago, Chile São Paulo Seattle Tampa Washington Reagan National West Palm Beach

Delta Air Lines Crown Room Club members are allowed to use partner clubs, which offer more clubs in more locations. For partner club information, visit

Codeshare Agreements

Delta Air Lines has codeshare agreements with the following airlines as of August 2006:
(This list does not include SkyTeam members)

• Air Jamaica
• Alaska Airlines
• Avianca
• China Airlines
• China Southern
• El Al
• Royal Air Maroc

Incidents and accidents

• Note: This section is for major Delta Air Lines accidents only.

On July 13, 1973, Flight 723, 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 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. 14 of the 108 passengers and crew died.(Voice recorder)

Trivia

• Delta operates its largest hub at the worlds busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
• The logo for Monroe Regional Airport is the Delta logo, in honor of its many years as the headquarters for the airline.

See also

• Delta Center

References

Delta to add on demand entertainment on domestic coach flights.

External links

• Reviews, Photos, and Information on Delta Air Lines Seats, Meals, Lounges
• 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
• Delta Air Lines Passenger Opinions
• Delta Air Lines History
• Delta SkyMiles Bonus Miles Promotions
• Experience with Delta Airlines
• New Georgia Encyclopedia