Delta Air Lines

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Delta Air Lines
IATA
DL		 ICAO
DAL		 Callsign
DELTA
Founded 1924
(as Huff-Daland Dusters) in Monroe, Louisiana [1]
Commenced operations July 17, 1929[1]
Hubs
Frequent flyer program SkyMiles
Member lounge Crown Room Club
Alliance SkyTeam
Subsidiaries Comair
Compass Airlines
Delta Shuttle
Delta AirElite
Mesaba Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Fleet size 452 + 49 orders (1144 w/ NW and wholly-owned subsidiaries)
Destinations 375
Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia
Key people Richard Anderson (CEO)
Edward Bastian (President / CFO)
Website: delta.com

Delta Air Lines, Inc. (IATA: DL, ICAO: DAL, and Callsign: DELTA) (NYSE: DAL) is a United States airline[2] based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.[3][4] Delta operates an expansive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Delta has indicated plans to initiate service to Australia in 2009, which will make it the only current American carrier to serve every continent, excluding Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries fly to over 375 destinations in 66 countries (excluding codeshare), across 5 continents.[5] Delta is the only major U.S. carrier that flies to Africa.[6] On October 29, 2008, Delta closed its merger with Northwest Airlines to form the world's largest carrier.[7]

Delta operates its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Delta also maintains hubs at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, and Salt Lake City International Airport.

Delta's Atlanta hub is the busiest airline hub in the world. Delta carries more passengers across the Atlantic than any other carrier worldwide. Its major transatlantic gateways are Atlanta, Cincinnati, and New York-JFK.[citation needed] Transatlantic service from Salt Lake City to Paris started in 2008, service from Pittsburgh to Paris will start in 2009, and service from Raleigh/Durham to Paris will start in 2010. Its major Latin American gateway is Atlanta.[citation needed]

Delta Air Lines's flagship, the Boeing 777-200LR.

  • 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-haul, low-density, high frequency flights.
  • Mesaba Airlines - regional component of Northwest acquired in the buyout.

  • 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.
  • 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.[citation needed] On May 1, 2006, Song was folded into the Delta mainline brand. The "Song" entertainment system will remain in place on certain long-haul domestic flights. Additionally, all former "Song" aircraft have been reconfigured to accommodate 26 First/158 Economy passengers. These aircraft are now focused primarily on trans-continental flights from JFK and ATL. Song used Boeing 757 aircraft.

As a historical footnote, Western Airlines was acquired on December 16, 1986, and was operated as a separate airline by Delta for over three months.[8] 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."[9] 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 was the launch operator of the Douglas 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 red, white, and blue delta-shaped logo (the "widget"). Just a few years later, Delta became the launch operator of the Douglas DC-9. By 1970, Delta was an all jet airline.

Main article: Delta Air Lines-Northwest Airlines merger

On January 15, 2008, Delta Air Lines was reported to be in merger talks with Northwest Airlines and United Airlines.[10] Although each airline declined to comment officially, many notable newspapers, as well as industry analysts, expected an announcement as early as mid-February 2008 as to which airline the Delta Board of Directors would like to pursue a merger. Delta asserted that it would retain its name and its Atlanta hub in any merger, possibly as the surviving airline.[11] By late February 2008 the merger discussions with Northwest Airlines appeared to have broken down over pilot seniority issues.[12]

On April 14, 2008, both Delta and Northwest Airlines announced that they would merge to create the world's largest airline. The Atlanta-based combined airline will have $17.7 billion enterprise value. The company also stated on April 14, 2008 that it agreed with its pilot union to extend the existing collective bargaining agreement through the end of 2012. The agreement, subject to a vote by the pilots, provides Delta pilots a 3.5 percent equity stake in the created new airline[13]. On October 29, 2008, the United States Department of Justice approved the merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest.[14]

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  It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. (Discuss)

A Douglas DC-7 in Delta livery

The company has its roots in Huff Daland Dusters, which was founded on May 30, 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. On September 13, 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 and Monroe. The original directors of Delta Air Service were C.H. McHenry, Travis Oliver, and M.S. Biedenharn. This service was terminated in 1930 after the "Spoils Conference" and the Post Office awarded the route to American Airlines. Delta restarted passenger service in August 1934 with a route from Charleston, SC to Fort Worth, with stops in Columbia, SC, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Meridian along the way.[15]

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. The logo for Monroe Regional Airport is based on the Delta logo, in honor of it being the airline's birthplace and the original headquarters for Delta.

In 1953, Delta purchased the Chicago and Southern Air Lines, and flew under the name Delta C&S for the next two years. [16]

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. The initial route was a Los Angeles-Dallas Love Field-Atlanta routing. Delta also had an interchange with Pan Am using Delta 747 to fly to London Heathrow Airport. However, with the economic slowdown of the early 1970s, Delta found the aircraft too large for its routes and it sold them a few years later. Shortly thereafter, Delta leased five DC-10s from United Airlines as a stopgap until its larger order of the new Lockheed L-1011 TriStars could be delivered.

A Delta L-1011

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 Delta Air Express in 1975, the first "high-priority, guaranteed cargo service"[17].

Delta launched its first frequent flyer program in 1981 which became the SkyMiles program in 1995. In 1983, Delta took delivery of its first Boeing 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."[18] 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.[19]

In 1984, the company established the 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 its official ride in the Magic Kingdom was Delta Dreamflight, and was discontinued in the late 1990s when Delta's partnership with Walt Disney World ended.

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.

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 767-300ER in 1997-2000 livery. The last mainline aircraft in this livery was repainted to the current livery as of July 2008.

In 1990, Delta became the first U.S. airline to operate the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft [20], leasing two from Mitsui. Delta operated 15 MD-11s. 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 except Miami to London and Paris, and the Frankfurt, Germany hub, after Pan Am declared bankruptcy. The purchase gave Delta the largest transatlantic route network, a fleet of 21 Airbus A310 aircraft, and the Worldport (Terminal 3) at JFK. Due to these acquisitions, Delta became and remains today the largest U.S. transatlantic carrier, 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, and forming what is today Delta Shuttle.

In 1991, as one of the conditions for Delta's financial support of Pan Am, Delta had the rights to use the Pan Am name on flights across the Atlantic. Delta obtained all of Pan Am's remaining transatlantic rights, except Miami to Paris and London, in November, 1991, including the route from Detroit to London, despite Northwest Airlines' objections. It was an unusual route for Delta given its small presence in Detroit, and Northwest's correspondingly larger operations.[21] Northwest later attempted to buy US Air's (now US Airways) Baltimore-London route for $5 million and transfer the route to Detroit[22] but ended up buying the route from Delta in 1995[23] for a rumored $32 million. The naming right was never exercised even though the Pan Am name was a much more widely recognized name in Europe than Delta. Within weeks after the route and asset transfers were complete, Delta ended its financial support, which led to Pan Am ceasing operations on December 4, 1991.[24]

After withdrawing its agreed upon financial support, which would have allowed Pan Am to continue with a hub in MIA, Delta was sued for more than $2.5 billion on December 9, 1991 by the Pan Am Creditors Committee. [25] Shortly thereafter, a large group of former Pan Am employees also sued Delta. Delta was able to combine and move the cases from New York to Atlanta. Delta was also able to prevent a jury trial, which, according to Business Week magazine, its attorneys had stated it would likely lose. The Atlanta judge then dismissed the lawsuits.

In 1995, responding to Qantas and American Airlines innovation of codeshare agreements, Delta established its own code sharing arrangements with Swissair, Sabena, and Austrian Airlines, which launched Atlantic Excellence, disbanded in 2000, for codesharing with Air France which led to the Skyteam alliance.

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, for longer non-stop flights. During Mullin's tenure, Delta saw large expansions into Latin America and the Caribbean. This was also known as Delta's "technological growth period".[citation needed] Airport kiosks were introduced, Delta Technology was developed into an industry leading technology division,[citation needed] 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 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, Manila, 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 and Los Angeles have ceased. Asian service is offered from Delta's Atlanta and New York – JFK hubs to Mumbai, India; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; and Shanghai, China

In 1996, Delta carried the Olympic Torch from Athens, Greece where it was lit, to Los Angeles, California for its traditional circuit to the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia for the 1996 Summer Olympics, of which Delta was the official airline.

In 1998, Delta and United Airlines introduced a marketing partnership that included a reciprocal redemption agreement between SkyMiles and Mileage Plus programs and shared lounges.[26] This scheme allowed members of either frequent flier program to earn miles on both carriers and utilize both carriers' lounges. Delta and United attempted to introduce an even cozier codeshare relationship, but this was deal was effectively killed by ALPA.[27] The marketing partnership ended in divorce in 2003 and paved the way for an expansion of the SkyTeam alliance.

In 1999, Delta was a founding partner of the online travel agency Orbitz originally began by a group of several major U.S. airlines, which was purchased by Cendant in 2004. Earlier in that decade, Deltamatic Computer reservations system was deprecated in favor of Worldspan.

SkyTeam, a global alliance, was created in 2000 and Delta partnered with AeroMéxico, Air France, and Korean Air. Three years later, Delta implemented the largest domestic codeshare alliance with Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Today SkyTeam now the second largest airline alliance in the world and continues to add members to its ranks.[citation needed]

Delta's short-lived Los Angeles focus city was significantly reduced in 2008, ending the build up toward hub status as Delta went from a high of 48 destinations from the airport to just 17. [28]

A Delta Boeing 767-300ER at Stuttgart, Germany

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 (three-engine planes) in favor of twinjets (two-engine planes). Delta's entire active fleet is now composed of twinjets, excluding Northwest's 747's. The airline is the world's largest operator of 767 aircraft:

  • The Lockheed L-1011 was, for many years, the workhorse of the Delta fleet, numbering as high as 56 aircraft in service. The last L-1011 (N728DA) was retired on July 31, 2001. The final flight operated as Flight #1949 from Orlando to Atlanta, and received a huge display of bittersweet fanfare from Delta employees, Hartsfield International Airport Fire/Rescue, and aviation enthusiasts, many of whom took the day off from work, or school to attend the historic final flight. The big Lockheeds were replaced with the Boeing 767-400.
  • The airline's many Boeing 727s were completely replaced with Boeing 737-800s 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-11s 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 Express. The remaining MD-11s were either sold to World Airways for charter use or converted to freighters for UPS Airlines.

Logo of Delta Air Lines from March 2000 to July 2007 - Based on Soft Widget

As early as 2004, in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, Delta announced a restructuring of the company that included job cuts, and an aggressive 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.[29] This was known to all Delta employees as "Operation Clockwork". 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. In a huge concessionary move, the pilots at Delta agreed to across-the-board 32.5% reductions in hourly pay rates in order to help the company stave off a bankruptcy filing. The agreement also included numerous changes in work rules, granting the company efficiencies in staffing and scheduling.

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. Airline fares are constantly in a state of flux, in addition to the constant change in fares due to the selling of seats allocated for lower fares. However, some claim that the SimpliFare is simply a marketing technique to alert the public that there is a maximum ceiling price for Delta's fares.[citation needed] Delta 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. in August 2007, the "same-day confirmed" fee increased to $50.

Also in 2005, in an attempt to increase profitability, 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 to Shanghai and Continental Airlines operating from Newark to Beijing.

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.[30]

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.[31] 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.

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.

Boeing 767-300ER in the livery used from 2000 to 2007

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 was to come from debt relief, lease and facility savings, and previously commenced fleet modifications. Non-union workers' salaries were to 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. In December 2005, the Delta pilots agreed to an additional temporary 14% cut in pay, piggybacking onto the 32.5% taken at the beginning of 2005. This cut was made permanent with the ratification of an agreement in June 2006. Additionally, the company planned to lay off between 7,000 and 9,000 of its 52,000 employees.[32]

As for its route network, Delta planned 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 (especially Asia, Caribbean and Europe) capacity up to 25%.

In 2006, Delta purchased rights to fly between New York and London from United Airlines.[33]

On February 24, 2006, Delta, along with Continental Airlines and FedEx Express, 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.[34] 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 would 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 would 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.

Based on all of these new initiatives, Delta projected 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 would eventually reach this goal of full year profitability in 2007[35].

Delta 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 its main hubs in New York, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta. This was to counter entertainment offerings of other airlines like JetBlue Airways, and take place of Song's service. Delta claims to offer the leading in-flight entertainment system in the United States. Live programming and music are free, and movies will be available on demand for a nominal fee in coach and for free in first class.[36] 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.[37]

On November 9, 2006, the airline announced that it would recall 1,000 flight attendants that were previously laid off. In addition to the flight attendant recall, Delta announced in late December 2006 that it had exhausted its pilot recall list and was now accepting pilot applications for the first time in 5 years. They expected to take on close to 200 first officers through 2007.[38]

During the later part of 2006 and early 2007, US Airways Group, holding company for US Airways, proposed an acquisition of Delta Air Lines. The combined entity would have been operated under the Delta name. This attempt was withdrawn after failing to gain support from Delta's major creditors and opposition by Delta management.

On November 15, 2006, Bloomberg reported that US Airways Group, the parent of US Airways, proposed a takeover of Delta for $8 billion in cash and stock.[39] However, Delta's CEO reiterated that the best interests of Delta and its creditors were served by the company emerging from bankruptcy as an independent, stand alone carrier. In the ensuing days, Delta mounted an aggressive defense against the takeover attempt.

In addition to Delta management, Delta employees appeared to be extremely skeptical of US Airways management's claims that a merger would result in no job reductions and provide a more secure future for a combined entity. Employees had started wearing "Keep Delta My Delta" buttons and campaigning to raise public awareness of their opposition to the proposed takeover.[40]

On December 19, 2006, Delta announced (as expected) it rejected US Airways Group's proposed merger. Along with the announcement, it launched a media campaign against the merger to raise public support. The campaign, "Keep Delta My Delta", was picked up from the employee grassroots effort of the same name. The effort's website harbored an e-petition, quotes from prominent dissidents, and the effects the merger could have on selected localities. In its report, Delta cited many reasons for rejecting the bid, including it would lead to worse customer service, possible layoffs, an inefficient carrier, the carrier with the largest debt-load in the industry, and near-monopoly powers.[41]

On December 20, 2006, Delta and its financial advisor, the Blackstone Group, declared that Delta would be valued at between $9.4 billion and $12 billion after emerging from bankruptcy, which would (at the time of this writing) give it a market capitalization comparable to that of Southwest Airlines Co. or greater than that of American Airlines' AMR Corp. and Continental Airlines, Inc. combined. US Airways Group CEO Doug Parker stated that Delta's self-valuation lacked credibility and was unrealistic.[42] Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein retorted by stating that the Tempe-based airline was "the worst of all potential merger partners".[43]

On January 10, 2007, US Airways raised its bid by 20%, to $10.2 billion. The revised offer was set to expire by February 1 unless Delta's creditors opened the airline's books to US Airways and delayed a scheduled February 7 court hearing pertaining to Delta's reorganization plan.[44] Delta responded with a statement, claiming that "...the revised proposal does not address significant concerns that have been raised about the initial US Airways proposal and, in fact, would increase the debt burden of the combined company by yet another $1 billion."[45] That same day Delta Air Lines was speculated to be in talks with Northwest Airlines and United Airlines to fend off the US Airways bid.[46] CEO Gerald Grinstein, however, denied that any serious negotiatons were ongoing with Northwest or any other airline.[47]

On January 28, 2007, US Airways holding company raised its bid by another $1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal,[48] but company spokesmen denied any change.[49] On January 31, 2007, Delta's creditors rejected US Airways' hostile takeover attempt, and US Airways withdrew its offer to buy Delta. On the same day, executives and employees of the company gathered to celebrate the re-lighting of the historic "FLY DELTA JETS" sign at the company's main hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.[50][51]

Delta Air Lines Boeing 777-200ER in new livery.

On April 25, 2007, the airline's bankruptcy plan was approved by the Bankruptcy Court. On April 30, 2007, Delta Air Lines emerged from bankruptcy protection as an independent carrier. Delta also unveiled a new logo, reminiscent of its logo from the 1970s and 1980s, and a new paint scheme. Delta's bankruptcy exit strategy was vastly different from that of United in that it expanded its way out of bankruptcy, rather than retrenching[citation needed].

Delta's previous stock was canceled as of Monday, April 30, 2007, and new shares are trading on a "when issued" basis on the New York Stock Exchange. These shares began trading normally on Thursday, May 3, 2007. The starting price was around $20.00 a share, and went up to as high as $23.35. But investors showed little confidence in the stock as the price fell to $19.00 later in the week. [52]

Upon exiting bankruptcy, Delta also announced a 50% increase in operations at Los Angeles International Airport[53], thus establishing Los Angeles as Delta's second West Coast hub and new potential Asian gateway with a total of 99 daily departures.

On May 10, 2007, Delta announced a partnership with US Helicopter, who provides service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to several helipads in downtown Manhattan.[54]

On July 12, 2007, Delta and its SkyTeam partners announced that they would forfeit slots in the European Union to relieve antitrust concerns.[55]

On August 21, 2007, Delta named Richard Anderson, former CEO of Northwest Airlines and executive at UnitedHealth Group, as a replacement for outgoing CEO Gerald Grinstein. Anderson assumed the post on September 1.[56]

On November 14, 2007, Pardus Capital Management LP, a hedge fund that owns 7 million shares of Delta and 5.6 million shares of United, called for the two carriers to merge. This action sent shares of both airlines up. However, the two airlines quickly denied official talks of any merger.[57] [58] [59]

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 second largest hub. Delta closed the hub in February 2005.
  • Frankfurt International Airport - Delta's Frankfurt hub was acquired from Pan Am. Delta dismantled the hub in 1997.
  • Los Angeles International Airport - Delta has under 50 flights per day from LAX and has a market share of 7.7%, which is a distant fourth behind United Airlines, American Airlines, and Southwest Airlines. Delta had planned to make LAX a major hub, but those plans have since been reduced to just a focus city as Delta has significantly reduced the destinations served from the airport due to the 2008 energy crisis. [60]

Former secondary hubs:[61]

  • Memphis International Airport - MEM was a mini-hub in conjunction with regional carrier ASA. This operation ended in the mid-80's when competition became too stiff with Republic Airlines and ASA shifted its aircraft to Delta's Dallas hub. As Republic was later merged into Northwest, Delta will once again have a hub operation here due to the Delta-Northwest merger.
  • Portland International Airport - Portland, Oregon (PDX) was at one time Delta's premier Asian gateway. It was closed in 2001, further described in the 'route eliminations' section of this article.

 This article may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (November 2008)

Former focus cities:[62]

Between its mainline operation and subsidiaries, Delta employs approximately 75,000 people.

Delta's approximately 6,600 pilots are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). The union has represented Delta pilots since 1940.[63] Pilot domiciles are located in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York City, and Salt Lake City.

The company's approximately 180 flight dispatchers are represented by the Professional Airline Flight Control Association (PAFCA).

The rest of Delta's workforce, in contrast to other legacy air carriers, is nonunion.

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%.[64]

Further information: Delta Air Lines destinations
  • Delta serves 461 destinations in 96 countries, more than any other U.S. airline.
  • Delta operates 1,534 flights per day. Delta Connection has 2,533 daily flights. Delta, Delta Connection, and other flights from the SkyTeam Alliance partners have 6,795 daily flights.[65]

Airline routes occasionally change as the public's travel patterns change and if a route becomes unprofitable. Although Delta serves the most destinations of any US airline, it has also eliminated more destinations than any major US airline. Some routes that have been eliminated include:

  • Delta served several cities in Asia, including Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul (Resumed from Atlanta), and Taipei, from Portland and Los Angeles, using L1011s with stops in Anchorage for refueling. They also at one time served Ketchikan Alaska.
  • With Delta's acquisition of Pan Am's Frankfurt hub, a number of new routes started to the city, including San Francisco, Orlando, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. (Dulles), and Dallas-Fort Worth. The hub at Frankfurt would eventually be closed.
  • Services between medium sized cities in the Southeastern United States to the Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth hubs have been superseded by nonstop Delta Connection service to the hub cities. Discontinued services have included Shreveport-Monroe and Birmingham-Jackson, Mississippi.
  • Closure of the Dallas-Fort Worth hub, created after Braniff Airlines ceased operations in 1982, in 2005.
  • Closure of gateway facilities in Portland, Oregon (PDX) including a cargo facility, which served Delta destinations in Asia.
  • Expansion of Western Airlines' Los Angeles hub service after acquisition of that airline, including the starting of a Tokyo-Los Angeles route using the then-new MD-11 aircraft. After 2000 flights were significantly reduced including elimination of Tokyo-Los Angeles. In 2006/2007, Delta started adding new routes out of LAX through its connection carriers, signaling a build up of LAX again. Most of the routes added have since been eliminated in 2008. Delta went from a high of 48 destinations at LAX to just 34, ending the build up and confirming Delta's presence at LAX as a focus city.
  • Delta acquired several routes to Honolulu (HNL) with the purchase of Western Airlines. These services from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City operated initially on Western's DC-10 aircraft, and later on the L-1011 and 767-400 including a nonstop from Atlanta. In 2007 Delta eliminated the San Francisco-Honolulu route and withdrew some 767-400 service Los Angeles-Honolulu in favor of smaller aircraft.

New Routes for Delta and Northwest
Origin Destination Start Date Equipment Notes Reference
Atlanta, Georgia Tokyo-Narita, Japan May 4, 2009 747-400 Operated by Northwest Airlines [66]
Los Angeles, California Sao Paulo, Brazil May 21, 2009 767-300ER [67]
Atlanta, Georgia Cape Town, South Africa June 1, 2009 767-300ER via Dakar
Replaces New York-JFK - Dakar - Cape Town		 [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Johannesburg, South Africa June 1, 2009 777-200LR Replaces 1-stop flight via Dakar [66]
New York-JFK, New York Bucharest-Otopeni, Romania June 1, 2009 767-300ER
Tokyo-Narita, Japan Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam June 1, 2009 757-200 Operated by Northwest Airlines [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Nairobi, Kenya June 2, 2009 767-300ER via Dakar [66]
Hartford, Connecticut Amsterdam, Netherlands June 3, 2009 757-200 Operated by Northwest Airlines [68]
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Paris-CDG, France June 3, 2009 757-200WL [69]
Salt Lake City, Utah Tokyo-Narita, Japan June 3, 2009 A330-200 Operated by Northwest Airlines [66]
Detroit, Michigan Shanghai-Pudong, China June 3, 2009 747-400 Operated by Northwest Airlines [70]
New York-JFK, New York Tokyo-Narita, Japan June 4, 2009 777-200ER [66]
Detroit, Michigan Rome, Italy June 4, 2009 A330-300 Operated by Northwest Airlines (seasonal) [66]
New York-JFK, New York Valencia, Spain June 5, 2009 757-200WL [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Monrovia, Liberia June 8, 2009 757-200WL via Sal [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Sal, Cape Verde June 8, 2009 757-200WL [66]
New York-JFK, New York Zürich, Switzerland June 8, 2009 757-200WL seasonal [66]
New York-JFK, New York Lagos, Nigeria June 9, 2009 767-300ER [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Abuja, Nigeria June 10, 2009 757-200WL via Sal [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Luanda, Angola June 14, 2009 757-200WL via Sal [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Malabo, Equatorial Guinea June 16, 2009 757-200WL via Sal [66]
New York-JFK, New York Prague, Czech Republic June 18, 2009 767-300ER [66]
Atlanta, Georgia Sydney, Australia July 1, 2009 777-200LR via Los Angeles [71]
Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina Paris-CDG, France 2010 757-200WL Originally scheduled to launch flights on June 2, 2009 but start date delayed due to economic crisis [72]

Further information: Delta Air Lines fleet

Delta Air Lines has an all-Boeing (including McDonnell Douglas aircraft) fleet. 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 fleets of Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 aircraft of any airline. It is the second largest operator of the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 (behind American Airlines).

The Delta Air Lines fleet consists of the following aircraft and orders (this list does not include Northwest Airlines aircraft):

Delta Air Lines Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
(First*/Economy)		 Routes IFE Notes
Boeing 737-700 5
(5 orders)		 124 (12/112) Domestic/international medium haul
US, Caribbean, Latin America and Mexico		 Panasonic eFX AVOD
Wi-Fi service**		 All equipped with winglets
Boeing 737-800 71
(34 orders)		 160 (16/144) Domestic short-long haul
US, Mexico and Caribbean		 Overhead LCDs or
Panasonic eFX AVOD
Wi-Fi service**		 28 aircraft equipped with winglets
Capacity increased by 10 seats
32 airplanes will be sold upon delivery
Boeing 757-200 129 Standard
183 (24/159)***
————————
Transcontinental
184 (26/158)
————————
ETOPS/international
174 (16/158)		 Domestic/international medium-long haul
US transcontinental
Caribbean, Latin America, Puerto Rico,
Transatlantic (ETOPS aircraft)		 Overhead CRTs
(Standard)
Panasonic eFX AVOD
(Transcontinental and ETOPS)
Wi-Fi service**		 Largest operator of the Boeing 757
6800-series aircraft feature winglets and BusinessElite
Six additional aircraft to receive winglets
Boeing 767-300 18 262 (24/238) Domestic medium-long haul
US transcontinental
Hawaii, Latin America, and Puerto Rico		 Panasonic eFX AVOD
Wi-Fi service**		 4 aircraft ETOPS certified
Largest operator of the Boeing 767-300
Boeing 767-300ER 57 Standard
217 (36/181)
————————
Ex-Gulf Air
216 (30/186)		 Domestic/international medium-long haul
Transatlantic and South America		 Panasonic eFX AVOD
(BusinessElite)
Overhead LCDs
(Economy)		 30 aircraft to be equipped with winglets (2009)
To be fitted with flat-bed BusinessElite seats[73]
Largest operator of the Boeing 767-300
Boeing 767-400ER 21 Domestic
285 (36/249)
————————
International
246 (42/204)		 Domestic/international medium-long haul
US transcontinental
Transatlantic and Hawaii		 Rockwell Collins PTVs
(First Class, domestic)
Overhead LCDs
(Economy, domestic)
Panasonic eFX AVOD
(all classes, international)		 All to be converted to international configuration by 2009
Flat-bed BusinessElite seats to be installed beginning Spring 2009
Largest and one of only two operators of the Boeing 767-400ER
Boeing 777-200ER 8 268 (50/218) International long haul Panasonic eFX AVOD Economy class capacity to increase by 3 seats (2009)
Lie-flat BusinessElite seats to be installed (2010)
Boeing 777-200LR 2
(8 orders)		 Ships 7101 & 7102
276 (43/233)
————————
7103 & Subsequent
278 (45/233)		 International ultra-long haul
Serving ATL-BOM		 Panasonic eX2 AVOD US launch customer
Features flat-bed BusinessElite seats
BusinessElite capacity expanding to 45 on ship 7103 and subsequent; retrofits for ships 7101 and 7102 planned
McDonnell Douglas MD-88 113 142 (14/128) Domestic short-medium haul
US and Delta Shuttle		 Wi-Fi service **
McDonnell Douglas MD-90 16 150 (12/138) Domestic short-medium haul
US (all based in Salt Lake City)		 Overhead LCDs
Wi-Fi service **

*First class is offered on domestic flights. BusinessElite is offered on transatlantic and transpacific Flights.
**Wi-Fi service by Aircell will be fully installed on all domestic aircraft by summer 2009. Wi-Fi will only be available on flights within the 48 contingious United States.
***Aircraft acquired from ATA holds 22F/156Y***

Delta's average fleet age is 14.0 years as of April 2008. Boeing reports 96 737-800s have been delivered. [74] Delta plans to sell all but 2 of its ordered 737-800's immediately upon delivery.[75]

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. Up until the merger with Northwest Airlines, Delta been adhering to the terms under a gentlemen's agreement. The future of the agreement remains uncertain as DL will be inheriting Airbus equipment from Northwest.

Delta has made bids to become Boeing's provider for 787 maintenance through Boeing's GoldCare support program.[76]

After the merger with Northwest, Delta will have 57 Airbus A319-100s (5 Orders), 70 Airbus A320-200s (2 Orders), 11 Airbus A330-200s, 21 Airbus A330-300s, 50 additional Boeing 757-200s, 16 Boeing 757-300s, 16 Boeing 747-400s, and 67 McDonnell Douglas DC-9s. Northwest currently has 18 Boeing 787-8 on orders which will be used by Delta. Delta will also take possession of 11 Boeing 747 freighters.[77]

Delta Air Lines Retired Fleet
Aircraft Year Retired Replacement IFE Routes
Convair CV-880 1973 DC-8-51 None Short-medium haul domestic routes
Boeing 747-100 1976 Lockheed L-1011 Overhead projectors Medium-long haul international routes
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 1977/1989* Lockheed L-1011 Overhead projectors Medium-long haul international routes
Douglas DC-8-71 1991 Boeing 757-200 None Medium-long haul international and domestic routes
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 1992 Boeing 737-200 None Short haul domestic routes
Airbus A310-200/300[78][79] 1994/1996** Boeing 767-300ER Overhead projectors Medium-long haul international routes
Lockheed L-1011 2001 Boeing 767-400ER Overhead projectors Medium-long haul international and domestic routes
Boeing 727-200 2003 Boeing 737-800
Boeing 757-200		 None Short-medium haul domestic routes
McDonnell Douglas MD-11 2004 Boeing 777-200ER (on Asian routes)
Boeing 767-400ER (on European routes)		 Rockwell Collins PTVs
(BusinessElite)
Overhead CRTs
(Economy)		 Medium-long haul international and domestic routes
Boeing 767-200 2006 Boeing 757-200
Boeing 767-300		 Overhead projectors Medium-long haul domestic routes
Boeing 737-200 2006 McDonnell Douglas MD-88 None Short-medium haul domestic routes
Boeing 737-300 2006 Boeing 737-800 None Short-medium haul domestic routes
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

*Delta operated the DC-10 twice, once