In its heyday, the invitation-only Flying Colonel was one of air transportation’s coveted citations.
The first ”Flying Colonels of the Delta Fleet” were frequent flyers, supporters of Delta and the air transport industry in 1953, but the program has an earlier history. Delta inherited the Flying Colonels in our merger with Chicago and Southern (C&S) Air Lines in 1953. The program was the brain child of George E. Bounds in 1940, then C&S Director-Public Relations and Advertising, who wanted a way to recognize those contributing to the airlines’ success and to build good public relations.
Fun facts:
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The first woman named a Flying Colonel (a rarity until 1984) was Betty Jeanne Claffey, aviation editor of the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper in 1944.
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The youngest Flying Colonel is believed to be six-year-old Tommy Alexander in 1946. Tommy rode C&S home after an operation for a life-threatening ruptured appendix.
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At one time, Flying Colonels had lifetime membership to Delta’s Crown Room Clubs (airport lounges opened in the late 1950s).
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A McCall’s magazine columnist visting the French country home of the Duke of Windsor in 1973, noted: “The walls are lined with mementos from the past—everything from a gigantic map documenting his travels as the Prince of Wales to a certificate making the Duke a ‘Flying Colonel’ for Delta Air Lines . . .”
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We awarded Flying Colonel memberships until January 1, 1998.
Flying Orchid Program
In the tradition of the Flying Colonels, we also designed a separate program to recognize women for their support of the Delta and air transportation industry in 1960. The orchid had been an important internal symbol at both C&S and Delta, so “Flying Orchid” seemed a natural choice for the program’s name. C.E. Woolman, Delta’s principal founder and first CEO, grew orchids as a hobby, and often presented them to Delta employees to mark significant accomplishments, such as flight attendant graduations. C&S also recognized employees’ extra efforts on behalf of the customer or the company in “An Orchid for You” articles in the company magazine.
In 1984, we modified our recognition programs so that women were now designated as “Flying Colonels,” just as men were. The Orchid program was then used to recognize administrative assistants and planners who made travel arrangments.
For details on the start-up of our first Frequent Flyer program in 1981, check out my earlier post.
Marie Force
Archives Manager
December 11th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Now THAT explains why Silver Medallions are referred to as “FO”‘s on the manifest!
December 16th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
I believe the Flying Orchid program was also used in the 1980′s to recognize frequent travelers who had not yet been invited into the Flying Colonel ranks. I was on the passenger manifest as a FO for several years and was told my FC invitation was iminent. However, 6 months later the FC program was retired.
December 18th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
Chris: You’re right. We did some research this summer and a long time Delta Reservations employee confirmed: “Yes, we reused the code for Flying Orchid.”
Thanks to Rowena Bailey, formerly of Delta Res, Delta Museum & now Marketing for your help tracking down that answer!
Airads: Thank you for your info! I have not heard of that use of the FO before, so will add your story to my passenger program files and ask around about it.
December 18th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
@Marie – Great to understand the history, when I was an FO (a LONG time ago…) I was told it stands for “Flys Often” and was a precursor to the current Silver, Gold, Platinum & Diamond tiers.
July 12th, 2010 at 1:17 am
I was saddened when talking to a member of the Delta staff in a CR and another at a ticket counter that they had never even heard of the FC status even when noted on the manifest. I am retired and fly less often. After Delta removed the “lifetime” CR privilege I was so mad it changed to Northwest. Now low and behold I am with Delta again. I have returned to Delta loyalty as I am now a missionary and travel more. My FF card still shows FC status. It would be nice if the staff could be properly educated.
Meanwhile I shall be back on a flight to JFK from London tomorrow, at least I am in an exit row!
September 15th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
Have been a Flying Colonel for over twenty-five years. Most DL employees (new & senior) are well aware of the program. The FC luggage tags often elicit positive comments and respect at the check-in counter and in the cabin. Generally, the FC’s are allowed early boarding along with the current medallion holders. DL has a major customer relations opportunity to re-open complimentary Crown Room admission to the FC’s. At this time [2010], there are probably only a few of us still flying. Those of us continuing to fly offer DL much positive word-of-mouth potential.
December 1st, 2010 at 12:12 pm
I was a Flying Colonel years ago. I retired and did not travel as much. When I checked in for a flight with my wife I showed my card so I could use the Crown Room and the ticket agent laughed at me. That was my last trip on Delta. I’ll never go back. I gave away my frequent flyer miles. This from a guy who can still tell you my FF# from memory.
January 7th, 2011 at 3:46 pm
Delta Still records me as a Flying Colonel on my reservations. Does this designation give me any benefits?
May 28th, 2011 at 12:26 am
My grandmother was bestowed the honor of becoming a member of the Order of the Flying Orchid in 1964. She is getting ready to celebrate her 90th birthday and we just found her award when we were going through pictures.
July 24th, 2012 at 6:01 am
[...] The 900 pound gorilla–Delta–has to top the list. While you may not agree with some of their fares you can’t beat their destinations. They serve pretty much just about anywhere you’d like to travel domestically and their international service is top notch. They can fly you non-stop to London, Rome, Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Zurich in Europe. Their Asian non-stops from Metro include Tokyo, Nagoya, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong. Hey besides, Delta honored me in the 80s as a “Flying Colonel.” [...]
December 29th, 2012 at 11:43 am
The title of flying Colonel was given to me in the 80′s as recognition for service to Delta Airlines while holding a public office responsible for promoting air travel internationally. As a result I had the pleasure of access to the Crown Room Lounges and was always thanked for my service and loyalty to Delta by reeservations and airport personnel.
I had forgotten about the program which ended in 1998 until just this week when checking into the Sky Lounge at O’Hare during a two day weather day. The desk attendant was at first confused by the FC on my account as my current Skymiles sstatus is Gold Medallion, but then she said, “are you a flying Colonel?” I had to think for a minute and then said, “yes I used to be”. She thanked me for my service to the airline industry and I was grateful for the reminder.
There are no longer benefits for being a flying colonel, but I am once again a loyal DELTA customer and enjpy the great service and new awards program, and the relationship with American Express that allows me access to Sky Lounges around the world.
March 10th, 2013 at 4:09 pm
That’s my Grandfather, George E. Bounds. He used to tell me as a kid so many stories about Chicago Southern and his ideas for Delta Airlines.
David H. Bounds