In the holiday spirit, I’d like to share one of the earliest ads in the Delta Archives specifically about holiday travel.

This December 1939 ad encourages travelers to fly home from Atlanta, on Delta’s 10-passenger Lockheed 10 Electras, to save time and money. Another bonus the ad mentions–in these still early, pre-World War II days of air travel–was that you could also “fly away from the crowds” of the roads and railways!

By the way, this is the earliest ad we have found that depicts a child traveling on Delta.

Happy Holidays to you!

Marie Force

Archives Manager

Delta’s world domination…er…global expansion continues!

So today’s announcement that Delta will begin nonstop service between Los Angeles and Sydney starting in July ’09 is probably the most exciting new service announcement of the year…for me at least.

There have been whisperings and rumors of the SYD service for more than a year on Airliners.net and FlyerTalk and the ‘land down under’ has long been one of the most requested destinations of Delta customers and Delta employees. As someone who holds U.S. and Australian citizenship, Sydney service has been a long time coming and I couldn’t be more excited!

What’s great is that DL16 and DL17 provide easy, one-stop access to and from the East Coast (Atlanta, New York/JFK) and the Midwest (Cincinnati, Detroit  Memphis and Minneapolis).

And what’s even better than THAT is the aircraft we’ll be using will be a brand new 777-200LR, complete with full lie-flat sleeper suites up front and slim-line seats with a bit of extra leg room in the back. And (here’s where I plug the in-flight entertainment system) everyone on the plane gets Delta on Demand with more than 200 movies, 100 hours of HBO on demand, 100 hours of TV, a suite of games and 4,000 mp3s. That’s sure to make the 15 hour flight to Australia go by a little faster!

So with SYD announced, that means Delta is the only U.S. carrier offering service to six continents (Antarctica doesn’t yet have a landing strip that can easily accomodate a widebody commercial airliner).

Oh…and as an added incentive to check out the Southern Hemisphere, we’re offering some pretty incredible introductory fares between LAX and SYD….$499 each way.

Some cool facts about the trip:

• LAX-SYD is 7,488 statute miles
• 15 hours LAX-SYD
• 13:45 hours SYD-LAX

The 777-200LR:

• Will carry 248,000lbs (112,491 kg) of fuel Westbound
• Will weigh 733,000lbs (332,483 kg) at takeoff
• Offers comfortable leather-appointed accomodations for 278 passengers
• Has a range of 10,840 miles (17,446 km)
• Has a cruising speed of 561 mph (902km/h)
• Has the longest range of any commercial airliner in the world

Check it out:

• Australia homepage
• Wikipedia article on Australia
• Delta 777-200LR website

Chris B.
Product Manager – Customer Experience
In-Flight Entertainment

’Tis the season for spending and splurging, but it can also be one for saving money and conserving energy with 12 great (and truly doable) ideas that I discovered at Brighter Planet. Developed from the premise that the average American’s daily carbon dioxide emission is roughly 136 pounds (enough to fill a 10-by-10-foot room, or 5,000 balloons—every day), the site’s tips focus on ways you can achieve a day’s worth of carbon neutrality.

All it takes is a simple change or two in your routine and a little extra planning. Some of the suggestions are obvious, and you’re probably already implementing them: recycling and composting (see my October blog posting for more on that), and turning down the heat. Others are a little more involved, like weatherproofing doors and windows, and doing a home energy audit.

But there are some holiday-specific changes you can make, too. Replace those strands of conventional incandescent Christmas lights (which produce over 100 lb. of CO2 during the holiday season) with the LED variety (which use about 90 percent less energy), and put them on a timer so they’re only lit from, say, 6 to 10 p.m. Save gasoline by shopping online for eco-friendly gifts instead of driving all over town to buy them, and wrap presents in recycled gift wrap, newspaper, or an old towel or blanket. Or make a donation in your loved one’s name to a charity or environmental organization and skip the gift wrap altogether.

Parties are a big part of the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be Green. The Daily Green has some great tips for throwing a Green (and cheap) New Year’s Eve party. (Think soy candles, and compostable flatware and dishes, for starters.) Some of my favorite Green ideas include sending electronic invitations; setting the table with edible decorations, such as candies, dried fruits and nuts, that do double duty; and saving/reusing party favors, noisemakers and other celebratory accessories from year to year.

If you have any other ideas for Green holiday entertaining, let’s hear them! For more sustainable living ideas, check out Green Scene in the December issue of Sky.

Katherine
Delta Sky Magazine