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.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.Delta is the only major U.S. carrier that flies to Africa.
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.
On October 29, 2008, Delta closed its merger with Northwest Airlines to form the world’s largest commercial carrier.
In February 2009, the airline began consolidating gates and ticket counters at airports where both Delta and Northwest operate. The consolidation will be completed by early 2010.
History
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.
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.
1970s and 1980s
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-1011Delta 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”.
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.”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.
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.
1990s
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 , 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.[23] Northwest later attempted to buy US Air’s (now US Airways) Baltimore-London route for $5 million and transfer the route to Detroit but ended up buying the route from Delta in 1995 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.
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 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 a leading technology division, gate information display screens (GIDS) were rolled out, and internal software was thoroughly revamped.[citation needed] 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 (to resume June 3, 2009 replacing existing Northwest Airlines route). 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.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 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. In 2004, Delta also started flights to Fairbanks International Airport in Fairbanks, Alaska from Salt Lake City International Airport in Salt Lake City, Utah during the summer. Northwest started flights to Fairbanks from Minneapolis in the summer along with Delta.
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 is the second largest airline alliance in the world and continues to add members to its ranks.
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.
Fleet transformation in the early 2000s
A Delta Boeing 767-300ER at Stuttgart, GermanyIn 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. The Lockheed L-1011’s 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.
Bankruptcy
Logo of Delta Air Lines from March 2000 to July 2007 - Based on Soft WidgetAs 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.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. 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.
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.[33] 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.
Reorganization during bankruptcy
Boeing 767-300ER in the livery used from 2000 to 2007On 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.
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.
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.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.
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. 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.
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.
Failed takeover attempt by US Airways
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.[41] 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.
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.
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.Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein retorted by stating that the Tempe-based airline was “the worst of all potential merger partners”.
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. 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.” 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. CEO Gerald Grinstein, however, denied that any serious negotiatons were ongoing with Northwest or any other airline.
On January 28, 2007, US Airways holding company raised its bid by another $1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal, but company spokesmen denied any change. 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.
Emergence from bankruptcy
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.
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.
Upon exiting bankruptcy, Delta also announced a 50% increase in operations at Los Angeles International Airport, thus establishing Los Angeles as Delta’s second West Coast hub and new potential Asian gateway with a total of 99 daily departures.
Post-bankruptcy
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.
On July 12, 2007, Delta and its SkyTeam partners announced that they would forfeit slots in the European Union to relieve antitrust concerns.
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.
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
Cabin
On May 1, 2006, the carrier adopted new uniforms from designer Richard Tyler.
Delta started the industry’s first comprehensive in-flight recycling program on July 1, 2007. The initial program involved all domestic in-bound flights to its Atlanta hub, and has since expanded to domestic in-bound flights arriving at New York (JFK), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (CVG), Salt Lake City (SLC), Portland (PDX) and Seattle (SEA) (Federal regulations require the incineration of international waste).
Wi-Fi
On August 5, 2008, Delta announced it will be installing the Aircell mobile broadband network, Gogo. This system will allow customers traveling with Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, smartphones and PDAs, to access the Internet, corporate VPNs, corporate and personal e-mail accounts, as well as SMS texting and instant messaging services.
Gogo will be available for $9.95 on flights of three hours or less, and $12.95 on flights of more than three hours.
Gogo will be offered initially on Delta’s fleet of 133 MD88/90 aircraft and will expand to the remaining domestic fleet of Boeing 737, 757 and 767-300 aircraft throughout the first half of 2009. It is expected that more than 330 aircraft will have internet access by Summer 2009.
In-flight entertainment
In the beginning of the jet age when aircraft such as the deHavilland Comet IV and Boeing 707 were introduced, in-flight entertainment other than lounges and magazines was non-existent. Later in the 1960s, audio programming was introduced where passenger wore headphones consisting of hollow tubes piping in music. These were installed in some Delta aircraft. Some early wide-bodied aircraft, including the L-1011 fleet, had films projected on to the cabin bulkhead. The film projection system on the L-1011s were replaced by CRT-based projectors in the early 1990s. Also during the same time period, CRT monitors over the aisles were added to the 757 fleet. The MD-90 introduced Delta’s first IFE system with LCD monitors in 1995, and the 777 introduced Delta’s first in-seat video system in 1999, initially using the Rockwell Collins Total Entertainment System. Delta’s first all-digital IFE system with AVOD (Panasonic eFX) was first introduced in 2003 on Delta’s former low-cost subsidiary, Song. The Rockwell Collins IFE system on the 777s was replaced by the Panasonic eFX system in 2007. The Panasonic eFX system is trademarked by Delta as Delta on Demand.
Audio and video are available on all aircraft except for the MD-88s and Delta Connection aircraft. BusinessElite on all aircraft except the 777-200LR uses the all-digital Panasonic eFX AVOD system. 48 Boeing 757s (Transcontinental 752), also using the Panasonic eFX system, feature live television via Dish Network in both first class and economy, while the remainder of the 757 fleet features ceiling-mounted CRT displays over the aisles. The Panasonic eFX with live satellite television has been installed on several aircraft in addition to the 48 757s already featuring the system, including 28 of the 737-800s, and all 21 domestic 767-300s. It is also featured on Delta’s 737-700s, which entered service in August 2008. Delta’s new 777-200LR aircraft feature the Panasonic eX2 system, which has a greater storage capacity over the eFX. The personal video screens on the 777-200LRs are also larger than those on Delta’s other aircraft.
In economy class, Panasonic eFX system (without the satellite TV product) is also found on the 777-200ER and international 767-400ER fleet. The domestic 767-400ER fleet features the Rockwell Collins TES system, but only features in-seat video (non-AVOD) in the first class section of the aircraft; the economy class section only features LCDs over the aisles. As the 767-400ER fleet is gradually converted to international duties, the Rockwell Collins TES system will be phased out in favor of the Panasonic eFX system with in-seat video and AVOD in both economy class and BusinessElite.
Delta’s 767-300 fleet (both domestic and international) originally featured CRT projectors in economy class, with the international 767-300ERs also featuring ceiling-mounted CRT displays over the aisles. The projectors and CRTs international 767-300ER fleet are in the process of being replaced by LCD displays, while the domestic 767-300 fleet has entirely been upgraded to the Panasonic eFX system with AVOD and live satellite television. The 737-800 (except those with winglets) and MD-90 fleet feature drop-down LCD displays below the overhead bins, while the wingleted 737-800 fleet has been upgraded to the Panasonic eFX AVOD/live satellite TV system.
When Delta’s ex-TWA ETOPS 757s were first delivered, they featured a system made by Sony Transcom (a former subsidiary of Sony now sold to Rockwell Collins) system that was factory installed for TWA. The system features overhead drop-down LCD monitors similar to Delta’s non-wingleted 737-800s and MD-90s. Delta replaced the Sony Transcom system with the Panasonic eFX system featuring in-seat video and AVOD at the same time as the new BusinessElite seats and slimline economy class seats were installed.
BusinessElite
BusinessElite is Delta’s international business class, available on the Boeing 767-300ER, 777-200ER, 777-200LR, select (eventually all) 767-400ER, and select 757-200 aircraft. All BusinessElite seats (made by B/E Aerospace) on Delta’s 767-300ER, 767-400ER, and 777-200ER have 60 inches (1,500 mm) of pitch, 160 degrees of recline, and either 18.5 (767) or 21 (777-200ER) inches of width. Passengers in the BusinessElite cabin receive free meals, refreshments, alcohol and an amenity kit. All seats are equipped with a personal, on demand In-Flight-Entertainment (IFE) system, universal power-ports, a moveable reading light, and a folding work table. On the ex-TWA/AA ETOPS 757s, a similar model of BusinessElite seat was introduced in 2008. These seats are made by Recaro and feature a built-in massage feature, 55 inches of pitch and are 20 inches (510 mm) wide.
On March 27, 2007, Delta announced that it will convert its entire 767-400ER fleet to an international configuration, featuring a BusinessElite cabin. During the summer of 2007, 8 out of the 21 767-400ER aircraft were convereted and an additional 6 767-400ER aircraft were converted between December 2007 and May 2008.
Delta introduced full-flat sleeper suites made by Contour Premium in its 777-200LR fleet upon delivery and will retrofit its 777-200ER fleet with the Contour full-flat product by 2010.
On February 5, 2008, Delta has also announced that they will be installing a sleeper suite product on the 767-400ER aircraft. Designed by Thompson Solutions and manufactured by Contour Premium, these sleeper suites use a space-saving design, with the bottom ends of the seats extending under the armrests of the suites in front when in the full horizontal flat bed position. This allows for minimal reduction in capacity compared to most other sleeper suite products, particularly with the 767’s narrower fuselage. The suites will be arranged in a 1-2-1 layout, with a total capacity of 40 BusinessElite suites (down from 42). On November 3, 2009, Delta has announced that the 767-300ER fleet will also get the same sleeper suite product that will be first introduced on the 767-400ER fleet.
Domestic First Class
First Class is offered on domestic flights. It is available on Boeing 737-800, 757-200, MD-88, MD-90, and domestic 767-300 and 767-400 aircraft. Seats range from 18.5-20.75 inches wide, and have between 37-40 inches of pitch. Passengers aboard this class receive free meals, drinks, and alcohol. All domestically-configured 767-400, wingleted 737-800s, and (Transcon) 757-200 aircraft have power-ports at each seat. Delta intends on replacing First Class with BusinessElite on all 767-400 aircraft.
When the ex-AA/TWA ETOPS 757s were first delivered, they initially featured 22 domestic First Class seats that were originally installed by TWA. On international routes, the aircraft were sold entirely as Economy class. All of the ETOPS 757s now feature the new Recaro BusinessElite seats.
International Economy Class
Economy Class is available on all international flights. Seats range from 17 to 18 inches (460 mm) wide, and have between 31 and 33 inches (840 mm) of pitch. A few of the newest 767-300ER and all 767-400ER, 777-200ER, and 777-200LR aircraft feature economy class seats with moveable headrests. The economy class seats on the 777-200ERs also feature mechanically adjustable lumbar support. The economy seats on the 777-200LRs are the new Weber 5751 model slimline seats. These seats are better contoured than the seats on the 777-200ERs and 767-400ERs, allowing for greater passenger comfort, however, they do not feature adjustable lumbar support. The ex-TWA ETOPS 757s also feature the Weber 5751 slimline seats, except without moveable headrests, however, Delta has recently began to add moveable headrests to the seats, and the entire fleet should be completed by June 1. Economy Class passengers receive free meals with one alcoholic beverage, refreshments, as well as a mid-flight snack. Additional alcohol may be purchased for $7.
Domestic Economy Class
Economy Class is available on all domestic flights. Seats range from 17 to 17.5 inches (440 mm) wide, and have between 30 and 33 inches (840 mm) of pitch. Passengers aboard this class receive free drinks and snacks. As part of Delta’s EATS buy on board program, food is available for purchase on all flights 1,500 miles (2,400 km) or more (some flights to Hawaii and Alaska continue to receive complimentary meal service). Alcohol may also be purchased for $7.00. Domestically-configured 767-400 aircraft feature in-seat EmPower. The domestic 767-400 fleet also features seats with moveable headrests, making them the only domestic aircraft in Delta’s fleet to feature this amenity. The 737-800 and domestic 767-300 fleet have recently been refitted with new Weber slimline seats allowing for greater capacity while maintaining sufficient legroom. Unlike the slimline seats on the 777-200LRs, the new seats on the 737-700s, 800s, and domestic 767-300s do not feature moveable headrests.
Delta operated a previous buy on board starting in 2003 and ending by 2005
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