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The Delta Heritage Museum

Delta Through the Decades

Explore Delta's history decade-by-decade and discover how Delta became one of the greatest airlines in aviation history.

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1920's - From Huff Daland Dusters to Delta Air Service
   
1924 The Huff Daland Dusters crop-dusting operation, which formed the roots for Delta, founded in Macon, Georgia. This was the first commercial agricultural flying company in existence.
1925 Huff Daland Duster's headquarters moves to Monroe, Louisiana. Huff Daland's 18 planes are the largest privately-owned fleet in the world.
1928 C. E. Woolman, the principal founder of Delta Air Lines, leads movement to buy Huff Daland Dusters. Renamed Delta Air Service for the Mississippi Delta region it served. D.Y. Smith, President; C.E. Woolman first Vice President.
1929 Delta operates first passenger flights over route stretching from Dallas, Texas, to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport and Monroe. Travel Air S-6000B airplanes carry five passengers and one pilot.
   
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1930's - Delta begins passenger service
   
1930 Service begins to Atlanta. Lack of mail contract forces suspension of passenger service. Company renamed Delta Air Corporation.
1934 Delta receives Air Mail Route 24 from Post Office; resumes passenger service. Begins operating as Delta Air Lines.
1935 Delta offers first night service with the Stinson Model A; first Delta aircraft with two pilots.
   
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1940's - Delta goes to war and officially becomes Delta Air Lines, Inc.
   
1940 Introduction of Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 service. Flight attendants, called "stewardesses," added to flight crews.
1941 Delta headquarters moves from Monroe to Atlanta.
1942 Delta contributes to the war effort. Modifies 1,000+ aircraft, over-hauls engines/instruments, trains Army pilots and mechanics.
1944 First converted DC-3 cargo ship, Delta No. 43.
1945 Official corporate name becomes Delta Air Lines, Inc. National Safety Council Award for over 300 million passenger miles and 10 years of flight without a passenger or crew fatality. C. E. Woolman is President and General Manger. Delta is the first airline to fly living vegetable plants (160,000 tomato plants).
1946 Delta starts regularly scheduled cargo service. The one-millionth passenger boards. First airline with non-stop Chicago-Miami flights.
1947 Delta's fleet totals 644 available seats. Receives National Safety Award for more than one-half billion passenger miles without a fatality.
1948 First U.S. interchange service, June 1st. TWA personnel flew Delta planes from Cincinnati to Detroit; Delta crews fly TWA ships south to Atlanta, Miami and Dallas.
   
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1950's - Delta flies Atlanta to New York
   
1950 Delta's Lockheed Constellation aircraft feature reversible seats, allowing passengers to face one another.
1953 Chicago and Southern Air Lines merger brings Delta its first international routes (to the Caribbean and Caracas). Airline called Delta-C&S for the next two years.
1955 Delta pioneers the use of the hub and spoke system. Scheduled airplanes bring passengers to a hub airport where travelers connected to other Delta flights. Delta wins Atlanta to New York route.
1956 Radar installed in noses of all Delta aircraft.
1959 Delta is first airline to launch Douglas DC-8 jet service. The red, white and blue triangle "widget" becomes Delta's logo resembling the swept-wing appearance of a jet.
   
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1960's - Delta jets go coast-to-coast and ocean-to-ocean
   
1960 First airline to launch Convair 880 jet service.
1961 Flies first non-stop flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Delta links California and the Caribbean with first jet service from California to Montego Bay and Caracas. Delta receives National Safety Award for flying over 11 billion passenger miles without a fatality.
1962 Delta activates the electronic SABRE system for "instant" reservations. A Delta DC-8 is the first commercial plane to fly Los Angeles-Atlanta in less than 3 hours (02:57:11)--a record that still stands.
1964 The Deltamatic reservation system starts with IBM 7074 computers.
1965 First airline to launch Douglas DC-9 service.
1966 Delta founder C.E. Woolman dies. Charles H. Dolson becomes Delta's second CEO. Crop-dusting division ceases operations. Delta is first with Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo service.
1968 A reconditioned 1925 Huff Daland Duster given to the Smithsonian Institution as a memorial to C. E. Woolman, Delta founder.
   
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1970's - Delta celebrates 50 years going strong
   
1970 Delta has an all-jet passenger airplane fleet. Boeing 747 service begins.
1971 W.T. Beebe becomes Chairman and CEO. Delta Dash (cargo service for small packages) begins.
1972 Northeast Airlines merges with Delta. Delta becomes a major carrier in New York and Boston, with direct routes from New York and New England to Florida. Delta begins operating the Boeing 727.
1973 L-1011 TriStar service introduced.
1975 First airline to offer its own air express service, a new high priority, guaranteed cargo service called Delta Air Express.
1978 The Airline Deregulation Act passes. Delta begins transatlantic service: Atlanta to London. David C. Garrett becomes CEO.
1979 Delta celebrates its 50th year of service; begins flights to Frankfurt, West Germany. Delta is the first airline in the world to board one million passengers in one city in one month (Atlanta in the month of August).
   
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1980's - Delta expands services and routes
   
1980 Development of computer reservations systems (CRS) in the early 1980s.
1981 Delta launches Frequent Flyer Program (changed to SkyMiles in 1995).
1982 After Delta suffers financial losses, employees raise $30 million in payroll deductions to purchase the first Boeing 767, named "The Spirit of Delta."
1984 Delta strengthened ties to regional airlines partners through its Delta Connections program. Delta begins service to Hawaii. Offers nation's first public air-to-ground telephone system with Airfone, on the L-1011.
1987 Western Airlines merges with Delta; becomes the fourth largest U.S. carrier and fifth largest world carrier. First transpacific service begins: Atlanta to Portland, Oregon, to Tokyo. Ronald W. Allen becomes Chairman and CEO.
1988 Delta opens operations in Asia.
   
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1990's - Delta purchases Pan Am and becomes a global carrier
   
1990 Delta is the first airline to offer MD-11 jet service in the U.S. Delta, Northwest Airlines and TWA combine reservation systems, forming WORLDSPAN Travel Information Services. Delta and 23 civilian airlines participate in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) during Desert Storm/Desert Shield from 1990-1991, carrying passengers and military cargo.
1991 Delta purchases substantially all of Pan Am's transatlantic routes and the Pan Am Shuttle, making this the largest acquisition of flights in airline history. Delta becomes a global carrier.
1994 Delta returns to profitability in fourth quarter, fiscal year 1995.
1995 Rededication of "The Spirit of Delta", repainted in Olympic color scheme. Delta named the official airline of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games. The J.D. Power Award for best among major carriers for long and short haul flights. Delta is the first U.S. carrier to voluntarily ban smoking on all flights.
1996 Delta unveils the "Centennial Spirit," a new MD-11 jet painted in a Olympic design; transports the Olympic Flame from Athens, Greece, to Los Angeles, for 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. Customers can make reservations and purchase tickets via Delta's Web site, SkyLinks. Delta starts low-fare airline Delta Express, with service from Orlando, Florida.
1997 Leo F. Mullin is named President and CEO. Delta is the first airline to board over 100 million passengers in a year. Begins expansion of U.S.- Latin American. Introduction of new aircraft livery. Delta purchases the Boeing 777.
1998 Delta and SwissCargo forge the first international cargo alliance. Delta is the first airline to install automatic defibrillators on board all of its aircraft. First and business classes on international flights become a single section of luxury seats called BusinessElite®.
1999 Air Transport World magazine named Delta its global Airline of the Year for 1998. Aviation Week And Space Technology magazine named Delta 1999's Best Managed Major Airline.
   
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2000's - Delta launches SkyTeam and delta.com
   
2000 Launched SkyTeam, a global alliance, partnering Delta with AeroMexico, Air France and Korean Air. Acquired Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) and Comair, two regional Delta Connection carriers, as wholly owned subsidiaries. Places the industry's largest order of regional jets (500). New aircraft livery and a contemporary "widget" logo. Launches delta.com Web site. Carried 120 million passengers.
2001 U.S. airspace closed for two days after terrorist attacks on Sept. 11th. Delta posts first financial loss in six years. Delta carries Olympic Flame from Athens, Greece, to Atlanta for 2002 Olympic Torch Relay to Salt Lake City Utah.
2002 Delta sponsors the 2002 Olympic Winter Games at its Salt Lake City hub. Technology advances bring convenience to customers through kiosks at check-in, expanded gate information systems and virtual check-in on delta.com.
2003 Delta launches Song®, a unique low-cost subsidiary airline. Delta leads the industry with a new model for passenger check-in: lobby redesign, expanded kiosk use, the introduction of Delta Direct phone banks, lobby assist agents and new signs and processes to improve traffic flow. New ramp technology improves fuel savings, load and unload times and baggage transfer. Delta implements the largest domestic codeshare alliance with Continental and Northwest. Delta is the first U.S. airline to offer prerecorded audio flight information at the gate. SkyTeam is the world's largest leading airline alliance operating the largest number of regional jets.
2004 Gerald Grinstein becomes Delta's CEO. Delta celebrates 75 years of passenger service; returns to traditional "widget" logo. Delta continues work toward financial viability. Customer service and ramp operations efficiency enhanced with a new automated load instruction system for baggage, cargo and mail; expansion of touch-screen computers with real-time flight and gate information on baggage transfer tugs; and staggered zone system for aircraft boarding. Delta introduces the SimpliFares program in Cincinnati, offering new low everyday fares on domestic travel.
   
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