Delta Air Lines
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Delta Air Lines is one of the world's largest airlines. Delta Air Lines actually had its early beginnings in 1924 as crop-dusting company, Huff Daland Dusters. In 1929, it began operating as a passenger airline out of Monroe, Louisiana.
Today, Delta has an extensive domestic and international reach, servicing 367 destinations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Caribbean and Australia. The hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world's largest, connecting passengers with wherever they're going around the globe.
Delta is one of only ten airlines that fly to all six continents (sorry, no flights to Antarctica).
Mergers
In October 2008, Delta completed the merger with Northwest Airlines, forming the world’s largest commercial carrier in fleet size and destinations, and the second-largest in revenue passenger miles.
Fleet
Until its Northwest merger, Delta operated an exclusively Boeing fleet. Now consisting of Airbus and McDonnell Douglas in addition to Boeing, Delta has the largest fleet of Boeing 757 and 767, and is the largest U.S. operator of Airbus A330 aircraft.
In 2008, Delta announced the installation of Wi-Fi, allowing passengers with enabled devices to stay connected while on the go. As of October 2010, the airline has the largest fleet of Wi-Fi equipped aircraft in the world.
A variety of in-flight entertainment choices are available depending on service class. Delta’s ‘Delta on Demand’ audio video on demand (AVOD) system is available on many flights. Check with the airline or your travel agent for full details.
Other information
On May 15, 1946, Delta celebrated their one-millionth passenger, Mary Frances Carroll, who is an accountant from Chicago. Ms. Carroll was presented with an orchid corsage, cake, four pairs of nylons (scarce during wartime), and was made an honorary flight attendant complete with official cap and "wings" pin.
Delta was the official airline of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It has also been the official airline for a number of professional sports teams and the unique entertainment troupe, Cirque du Soleil. Delta Air Lines, Inc. also sponsors a number of awards, scholarships and cultural events.
Delta's 2008 YouTube flight safety video by flight attendant Katherine Lee, a.k.a. Deltalina, has received almost 2 million views since it was posted.
The 'new Delta' was showcased in a special edition of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2007, where Ellen filmed the entire segment on a Delta Boeing 767.
Delta spearheaded the industry’s first in-flight recycling program in 2007 on domestic flights. As of April 22, 2010, the airline has recycled 3.7 million pounds newspaper, magazines, cardboard, plastic cups, plastic bottles and aluminum cans, equating to*:
- Saving 2,413 cubic yards of landfill space
- Enough mixed plastic to "save" 605 barrels (96.2 m3) of oil
- About 40 million aluminum cans
… and raised enough funds to build Habitat for Humanity Homes in Atlanta and Cincinnati, with a third home being planned for 2010.
*Source: Wikipedia.org
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