Did you know this month marks 55 years of international service for Delta? Click on this map to see our first international routes in the Caribbean and South America. Delta acquired these routes from Chicago and Southern (C&S) Air Lines, when the airline merged with Delta on May 1, 1953. The combined airline was known as Delta-C&S until 1955.
This 1953 paper drink coaster promoted Delta’s new service to Havana, Cuba. Our other first international cities were Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica; Cuidad Trujillo (today’s Santo Domingo), Dominican Republic; and Caracas, Venezuela. We also acquired service to San Juan, Puerto Rico from C&S Air Lines.
In 1953, Delta served 7 countries. Today, Delta operates service to more worldwide destinations than any airline with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 305 destinations in 58 countries. Delta has added more international capacity than any major U.S. airline during the last two years and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 38 transatlantic markets.
Marie Force
Archives Manager
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May 15th, 2008 at 11:23 am
Marie - I love the archives posts. Please keep them coming!
May 16th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Will do! I’m trying to post at least bi-weekly now, so you should see more frequent stories on Delta historical images, aircraft and artifacts. I’m having a lot of fun digging in the Archives for fun items to feature. Glad to hear you are enjoying the stories.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:54 am
. . . also if anyone has particular Delta historical topics or images you’d like to see featured, just let me know.
May 22nd, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Perhaps at some point, you could highlight some of the old carriers that make up today’s Delta, like Western, Northeast, Chicago & Southern, etc. And before long, you’ll be able to highlight Northwest, Republic, North Central, Southern and Hughes AirWest!
May 23rd, 2008 at 9:06 am
JamesK: Thanks for the great suggestion. Our Western collection in particular has some great aircraft photos. Marie