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Delta Stats & Facts

History

Delta traces its roots back to 1924, when Huff Daland Dusters was founded as the world's first aerial crop dusting organization. In 1928 the company became Delta Air Service. On June 17, 1929, Delta inaugurated airline service with the first passenger flights over a route stretching from Dallas, TX to Jackson, MS, via Shreveport and Monroe, LA. In 1941, the company moved its headquarters from Monroe to Atlanta, GA. To read more about Delta's history, see Delta Through the Decades, brief highlights of Delta's past.

Worldwide Service

Delta Air Lines, the world’s No. 1 airline, serves more than 170 million passengers each year. With its unsurpassed global network, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary, and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 355 destinations in 64 countries on six continents. Delta employs more than 70,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of nearly 800 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France KLM. Including its worldwide partners, Delta offers customers more than 16,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita.

The airline’s service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world’s largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 airport Sky Clubs worldwide. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, and check bags and flight status at delta.com.

Operating Statistics
Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Hubs: Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita
Largest Hub: Atlanta – world’s largest airline hub with more than 1,000 daily departures to 213 destinations
Stock Ticker: NYSE: DAL
Founded: 1928 in Monroe, Louisiana, USA*
CEO: Richard Anderson
Destinations Served: 355 (107 international; 248 domestic)
Countries Served: 64
Aircraft in Fleet**: 1,017
Annual Passengers (2008): More than 170 million
Daily Flights: 5,524
Global Ranking: World’s No. 1 airline in passengers, ASMs, and destinations served
Frequent Flyer Program: SkyMiles (established 1981); more than 74 million members
Employees: More than 70,000
Market Capitalization***: $7.6 billion
Liquidity: $5 billion
Annual Revenues (2008): $34.3 billion
Alliance: SkyTeam
Joint Venture Partners: Air France-KLM
Countries/Destinations Served with Worldwide Partners: 558 destinations in 114 countries
Historic Firsts:
  • 2009—Delta becomes only U.S. airline to serve six continents with introduction of nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Sydney
  • 2008—Delta and Northwest Airlines merge, creating a truly global airline with major operations in every region of the world
  • 2000—Delta is founding member of the SkyTeam alliance
  • 1997—Delta launches major expansion into Latin America
  • 1991—Northwest and KLM launch first joint trans-Atlantic service; Delta becomes the largest U.S. airline across the Atlantic with the acquisition of Pan American World Airways’ trans-Atlantic network
  • 1988—Northwest bans smoking on all North American flights, the first major U.S. airline to do so
  • 1987—Delta becomes a major West Coast U.S. airline with the acquisition of Western Airlines
  • 1986—Northwest becomes a major domestic U.S. airline with the acquisition of Republic Airlines
  • 1982—After Delta suffers financial losses, employees raise $30 million in payroll deductions to purchase the first Boeing 767, named "The Spirit of Delta"
  • 1978—Delta launches its first trans-Atlantic flights between Atlanta and London-Gatwick, propelling the airline into the post-deregulation era
  • 1972—Delta becomes a major airline in the Northeastern United States with the acquisition of Northeast Airlines
  • 1955—Delta pioneers the use of the hub and spoke system
  • 1953—Delta merges with Chicago and Southern Air Lines, adding first Delta service to the Caribbean and South America
  • 1947—Northwest pioneers the Great Circle route to Asia with service from the United States to Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai, and Manila
 
*Delta Air Lines was founded as Delta Air Service in 1928; Predecessor airlines include Northwest Airlines, established as Nortwest Airways in 1926, and Western Airlines, established as Western Air Express in 1925
**Including Delta Connection partners as of 6/30/09
***Calculated based on stock closing price on 9/22/09
Travel may be on other airlines.
Terms and conditions apply to all offers and SkyMiles benefits. See specific offer for details, and visit SkyMiles Membership Guide & Program Rules.
+Subject to government approval.