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Archive for July, 2008

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Eco-Delta Series: Expansion of In-flight Recycling program

Published July 10th, 2008 in Environment | 2 Comments →

We’ve added six new stations to our in-flight recycling program!

Last month, Baltimore, Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco, and Washington, DC began recycling on all flights and nearly 25 more stations will join them mid-July. See complete list below.

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Since the beginning of the program in June 2007, our flight attendants have helped raise $80,000 toward funding a Habitat for Humanity EarthCraft home being built in Jonesboro, Georgia this September. An EarthCraft home is built with energy efficient appliances and environmentally sustainable products and materials.

Our overall goal for the program is to reduce the amount of solid waste going into landfills and use revenue from recycling to support foundations such as Habitat for Humanity. The program also reduces our waste costs, which saves Delta money. Recycling is a prime example of how environmentally sustainable practices are not only the right thing to do, but also support our economic viability.

Next time you’re flying into one of the below cities, remember to recycle your aluminum cans, plastics bottles (caps can be left on), newspapers, and magazines.

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Baltimore, MD
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Cleveland, OH
  • Denver, CO
  • Ft. Lauderdale, FL
  • Los Angeles, CA
  • Portland, OR
  • Raleigh-Durham, NC
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Seattle, WA
  • Washington, DC

Do you have any other recycling tips when traveling to share?

Meghan
Sustainability Intern
Environmental Health

Golfing for Charity in Sunny CA

Published July 9th, 2008 in Sponsorships | 1 Comment →

Hey there!

I want to start by letting you all know how excited I am to be participating in the Delta blog. I’ve been following the blog for the last couple months and I must confess, I have some pretty big shoes to fill if I’m going to give Jeff Francoeur a run for his money. Hopefully I’m able to provide you guys with some of the same quality insight about my experience that he has.

Off Season is Great

I’m currently in San Diego, CA where my wife and I make our off-season home. As you might imagine the weather is sunny, beautiful and everything you would expect California to be. We usually get to spend a couple months out here a year and, being a native Southern Californian, I can’t get enough of the ocean and amazing golf courses out here. In case you didn’t know, next to football, golf is one of my favorite sports. I try to play as much as I can and in a few weeks, I’m going to be in Tahoe playing in the American Century Championship Celebrity Pro-Am. I look forward to that event every year because there are so many amazing celebrities that play in it (including guys that I grew up admiring) and we have such a good time. Speaking of good times, let me tell you a little about the Carson Palmer Open which happened last week…

Giving Back

When I entered the NFL, my wife and I knew that I had a responsibility to find ways to give back to the community. Since I’m an avid golfer, I decided to hold a golf tournament every year in Orange County to benefit an organization called Hillview Acres. They work with abused and disadvantaged youth and they do a tremendous job. Last weekend, we held the annual Carson Palmer Open that allowed a bunch of people to get together, have a good time and raise some money for a good cause. There were about 30 athletes that helped me put on the event including: Marcus Allen, Matt Leinart, Eric Dickerson, Brandon Jacobs, Todd Heap and several others. The tournament was held at the St. Regis Monarch Beach resort and, if you are every looking for a beautiful place to stay in Orange County, CA, I highly recommend it. We’ve held it there the past two years and everything, from the hotel accommodations to the golf course, is first rate. As for the event, after two days of dinners, silent and live auction, golf and awards, we were able to raise well over six figures for Hillview. I’m extremely grateful and fortunate that Delta was able to jump on board as a title sponsor.

Delta’s support of me and my charitable causes (including a touchdown program for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Cincinnati last season) speaks volumes about the integrity of the company and the commitment that they have to giving back. It’s appreciated and makes me proud to call them a partner. In addition to Delta, I’d like to thank all the sponsors, celebrities and participants that helped make the event possible. We’re looking forward to doing it bigger and better next season and I’ll be sure to let you know more specifics as the event comes up.

Pre-Training

With the golf event finished, I’m looking forward to getting some time to relax with my wife and friends before training camp starts in July. I’m going to be a frequent contributor to this blog so I hope that my stories and future adventures don’t bore you guys too much. If they do, I apologize in advance. In meantime, I hope the weather is treating all of you as well as it’s treating me.

Stay well and until next time…

Carson

Carson Palmer is the Quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Earning Our Wings

Published July 8th, 2008 in Flight Attendants | 8 Comments →

The light at the end of the jetway is here!

After six weeks of intensive training we finally made it to our graduation day and earned our wings. It is just amazing how all of our duties tie together after all the training is complete to give the total picture of being a Delta flight attendant.

Some of you may have seen the recent clip on the Today Show giving you an additional inside look at the training that I’ve been writing about. It is true that when you see a flight attendant on Delta that he or she is someone who has received a vast amount of training to do many more duties than you’ll hopefully ever see on-board an aircraft. Being able to perform first aid, calm anxious passengers, save lives using CPR or an AED and evacuate a full plane in less than two minutes are just some of the duties that these safety professionals can do if necessary. This job if definitely more than serving cocktails and cookies!

Week Six

The final week of training was all the polishing that we needed before we head to the skies. We donned our uniforms for the first time and our facilitators were there to make sure we were ready to present the professional look of a Delta flight attendant. We were all so impressed how we all looked in our uniforms. After six weeks together as a class it was really cool to see everyone make it to this point in our new career.

The last couple of days before graduation included the big final exam. We had to complete a lengthy written final exam with questions related to everything we’ve learned during our training. Some of the questions were topics from our first week of training! Next we moved on to the “hands on” portion of the final exam. Each one of us had to demonstrate to the instructors that we thoroughly knew all of the safety related duties of our job. We demonstrated how to use the various pieces of emergency equipment on-board and how to evacuate the aircraft in a safe and efficient manner if necessary.

After all the exams were completed we waited for the official word from our facilitators that we had successfully passed Delta’s initial training to become a flight attendant. The news was good… we all passed and would earn our wings the next day!

Graduation Day

Graduation day was the day we had all been waiting for. Our friends, family and loved ones flew in from around the globe to be there for the ceremony. Our graduation was held in the auditorium at the Delta Training Center. There were photos and tears of joy throughout the room as Laura Kahoe, Manager of the Training Center, took the stage and described to our guests what this day meant for us as new flight attendants. We were then surprised with the presentation of a video slideshow that contained photos from our journey to graduation. It was a fun trip down memory lane over the last several weeks.

One by one we filed across the stage to receive our wings from our facilitators as Erika Sarkissian, Program Manager Inital Training, read our names. Definitely this was a photo moment and the flash bulbs were going off across the room. Once we all received our wings we were treated to a wonderful reception with brunch for all of the guests. After being well fed by the training center staff we were whisked off on the shuttle buses to the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. We were sent on flights to our new base city. Many of us were sent to New York City so we were heading up the east coast to start our orientation the next day at New York John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia airports as well as Newark’s Liberty International Airport.

So the next time you are onboard with Delta you’re likely to see some fresh new faces serving you. Take a moment and say hi. We would love to tell you all about our experience.

Welcome aboard the new Delta!

Eric

In-Flight Service ATL

Delta loves the Peachtree

Published July 7th, 2008 in Community, Sponsorships | No Comments →

It’s hard to believe that the 4th of July weekend is already past us and the Peachtree completed for another year. Thank you to all 700 Delta employees and their families who ran or walked in the world’s largest 10K! A special thank you also, to the Atlanta Track Club and Race Director Tracey Russell – they really outdid themselves this year with the challenges posed with the new finish. Everything seemed to go off without a hitch as usual!

For me, this was a special race for two reasons. First, it was my honor to award the Delta Silver Number to Kevin Montgomery of Atlanta (left) during the awards ceremony following the race. Kevin will enjoy an all-expense paid trip to Dublin to participate in the Dublin Marathon on October 27, 2008 including round-trip travel on Delta. What a great way for Kevin to start the July 4th holiday, and an exciting next challenge as he prepares for his first marathon in Dublin!

The race was special to me personally as it was the 10th anniversary of my first Peachtree in 1998. When I first started working for Delta in June of 1998, I was new to Atlanta and had no idea what “The Peachtree” was all about. One of my new Delta coworkers asked me if I wanted her number (which I now know is against the rules), and I nervously accepted having never run further than the required one-mile jogs in high school PE classes.

Nevertheless, another Delta colleague and Peachtree veteran promised to take me under his wing. I was amazed at the number of fans, the music, the donut cart at Publix, and especially the brutal mix of heat and humidity. Having grown up in Montana, humidity was a new experience for me – running in it was especially challenging. Despite my lack of running talent and ability, I finished with a smile on my face and I have been hooked ever since.

I haven’t been able to run the Peachtree every July 4th since 1998, but I have certainly tried. I think this was my seventh. It has become a tradition for my wife and I to complete together.

I know many of you have incredible streaks of continuous Peachtrees as well as great stories and experiences – maybe they were even made this year! Either way, I want to thank you and your families for being part of the Delta Team at this year’s race.

It’s funny how the Peachtree, with the challenges of hills, heat, and humidity is so similar to the challenges we face everyday at Delta with high fuel prices, summer loads, and long hours. Yet in the end, we can look back with our fellow finishers and together, feel a sense of achievement and pride that we were able to persevere and cross the finish line with our hands and arms extended and smiles on our faces.

And then, after sharing our personal stories and experiences, we look forward to doing it all again the next year.

Here’s to next year!!

Eric Phillips

Director, Domestic Revenue Management

High Flying Stars and Stripes!

Published July 3rd, 2008 in delta.com, History | 7 Comments →

The Fourth of July is a fun weekend, especially here in Atlanta!

It kicks off with the famous Peachtree Road Race; followed by cookouts, swimming and parades; and ends with lots of fireworks. As we commemorate 232 years of the USA, here’s a look back at a “star-spangled” Delta aircraft paint scheme.

This Boeing 727-100 wore a special stars-and-stripes version of the Delta widget logo in 1976, to celebrate the United States Bicentennial. A Douglas DC-9 also carried the Bicentennial logo that year.

The words “We the People. . .” painted underneath the widget, are the first three words of the Constitution of the United States. You can read the full text at the National Archives website.

Happy Fourth!

Marie Force

Archives Manager

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