Delta Air Lines: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

Delta Air Lines is an airline based in Atlanta, Georgia, operating a large domestic network within the USA, as well as an international network that spans Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In addition to its main hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta operates hubs at Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Delta also operates mini-hubs at John F. Kennedy International Airport and at Orlando International Airport. It is the largest carrier in the SkyTeam alliance.

Delta operates several airline brands. The mainline Delta brand serves long-haul, high-volume flights and most international services. Delta Connection feeds the airline's hubs with connecting traffic and is operated by Delta's wholly-owned subsidiaries Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, as well as Atlantic Coast Airlines in the northeast and mid-Atlantic states, Chautauqua Airlines in Florida, and SkyWest Airlines in the mountain states. Under a code share agreement, American Eagle also operates Delta Connection service out of Los Angeles. Short-haul, non-reserved services between major Northeastern U.S. cities are operated under the Delta Shuttle brand. Delta also owns Song, a no-frills, low-cost brand connecting northeastern cities with Florida, Puerto Rico, and Las Vegas.

Delta Air Lines' mainline division currently employs more than 60,000 people, and serves 138 cities in 34 countries, with an additional two cities in two countries slated for the future. Many more cities are served by the Delta Connection carriers, and by Delta's codeshare partners, including SNCF French Rail to rail stations in France.

Delta also awards the annual Delta Prize for Global Understanding in conjunction with the University of Georgia.

History

The company has its roots in Huff Daland Dusters, which was founded in 1924, and through a number of mergers and acquisitions became the company it is today. In 1941, Delta moved its headquarters to Atlanta, Georgia, near the center of its route network that connected Chicago and New Orleans to Florida.

In the 1950's, Delta began flights from New Orleans to the Caribbean and Venezuela, becoming the #2 US carrier in the region after Pan Am. By the early 1960's, Delta's route network stretched to the West Coast, and Dallas was emerging as its second hub city.

Delta purchased Northeast Airlines in 1972 to strengthen its market share in the northeastern United States. In 1978, Delta began flying from Atlanta to London with new Lockheed L-1011 aircraft: Frankfurt was added the following year.

In 1987, Delta took over Western Airlines and absorbed its large hubs at Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. That year, Delta began flights from Portland, Oregon to Tokyo, Seoul, and Bangkok, its first transpacific routes.

Delta's most dramatic expansion came with its purchase of Pan American's European routes in 1991, shortly before Pan Am declared bankruptcy. The purchase gave Delta the largest transatlantic route network through most of the 1990's.

Delta operated its last MD-11 flight on January 1, 2004, Flight 56 departing New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport) at 4:45pm. The aircraft arrived in Atlanta at 3:20pm. This concluded MD-11 service in the fleet, with Delta having retired the other three-engined aircraft, the Boeing 727, in 2003. Its entire active fleet is now comprised of twinjets. Delta had 14 MD-11's at the time of the aircraft's retirement.

Disasters

On the morning of August 2, 1985, Delta Air Lines Flight 191, on a Fort Lauderdale-Dallas-Los Angeles route, crashed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, killing 133 of the 164 passengers on board. The crash would later become the subject of a television movie.

On August 31, 1988, Delta Air Lines Flight 1411, bound from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Salt Lake City International Airport, crashed after take-off.

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Delta Air Lines Fleet

Excludes aircraft operated by Delta Connection subsidiaries ComAir and Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

Delta Air Lines Fleet (in order of aircraft size, in terms of cargo capacity)
Type Number Total # of seats Cargo capacity Engine Model Audio/Video
Boeing 737-200 52 107 850 cu ft Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15A No
Boeing 737-300 26 128 850 cu ft CFM International CFM56-3B1 No
McDonnell Douglas MD-88 120 142 1,253 cu ft Pratt & Whitney JT8D-219 No
McDonnell Douglas MD-90 16 150 1,300 cu ft International Aero V2525-D5 Yes
Boeing 737-800 71 148 1,555 cu ft CFM International CFM56-7B26 Yes
Boeing 757-200 121 180 1,670 cu ft Pratt & Whitney PW2037 Yes
Boeing 767-200 15 204 2,875 cu ft GE CF6-80A Yes
Boeing 767-300 28 252 3,770 cu ft GE CF6-80A2 Yes
Boeing 767-300ER 59 195 3,770 cu ft GE CF6-80C2B6F / Pratt & Whitney PW4060 Yes
Boeing 767-400ER 21 287 4,580 cu ft GE CF6-80C2B7F Yes
Boeing 777-200 8 277 5,656 cu ft Rolls-Royce Trent 892 Yes
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Destinations

The list does not include cities only served by Delta Connection.

Asia

East Asia

South Asia

Europe

North America

United States, U.S. Territories, Canada, and Mexico

Bermuda and the Caribbean, excluding US territories

Central America

South America

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Other facts of interest

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IATA Code

Delta Air Lines uses the IATA designator code DL.

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Delta Boeing 747 photo copyrighted by, and courtesy of, Mr. Ray Pettit.

Members of the SkyTeam Alliance
Aeroméxico | Air France | Alitalia | CSA Czech Airlines | Delta Air Lines | Korean Air

Future Members: Aeroflot | Continental Airlines | KLM | Northwest Airlines
List of Aircraft | Aircraft Manufacturers | Aircraft Engines | Aircraft Engine Manufacturers
Airlines | Air Forces | Aircraft Weapons | Missiles | Years in Aviation

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