BOURBON BREEZE and SKYY QUENCH!
Thanks to everyone who particiapted in our latest Delta blog poll to choose the next in-flight cocktails! The winning cocktails will be featured on-board beginning November 1. Also be sure to check Sky Magazine or ask your Flight Attendant for an EATS menu (select flights) for a complete listing of our other offerings.
Thanks again to all who voted and be sure to check back soon for our next refresh poll!
John C.
Program Manager – On-Board Revenue
Everyone has a favorite cocktail and we want to know what yours is! Beginning in November, we’ll be featuring two new on-board cocktails every month, and we want YOU to decide what they are!
We know that specialty cocktails are a great way to add little variety to your flying experience, which is why we’re continually looking to refresh our cocktail selections and let you decide what we’ll feature.
Please take a moment to vote on one of the cocktails listed below, or tweet your vote to @Delta using #DeltaDrink. Voting will end September 24, 2010 at midnight.
Be sure to look for (and try!) the winning cocktails next time you fly beginning in November.
John C.
Program Manager – On-Board Revenue
Delta has been a partner of the Braves since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966, and for more than half of the time since then, current Braves manager Bobby Cox has been at the helm. And after 25 seasons, Bobby will be retiring as one of the most successful managers of all time.
I wanted to take this opportunity to share a special moment we had with the team’s iconic manager here at our headquarters in Atlanta yesterday. Whether you’re a Braves fan or pour your heart into another team, all of our Delta customers and true baseball fanatics can’t help but love this story.
Yesterday, when the Braves arrived at Delta for their last regular season charter flight of the season, they got quite a surprise! Hundreds of Delta employees were gathered to thank Bobby for his service and wish him farewell.
The Braves charter aircraft was decorated with a temporary #6 decal – the same uniform number Bobby wears – and local celebrity chef Kevin Rathbun catered the flight. Delta presented Bobby with lifetime Platinum Medallion status and two BusinessElite tickets to any destination that Delta serves – that’s 367 destinations in 65 countries on six continents.
From one Atlanta icon to another, Delta sincerely thanks you, Bobby, for all of those years. You’ve been a joy to watch and your teams have been fun to root for. We’re thrilled to support the 2010 Braves and we’ll be cheering them on in their late season playoff push.
Go Braves!
Michelle G.
Manager, Corporate Sponsorship Marketing
This year marks the 65th anniversary of a unique Delta cargo “first.” We transported the first shipment of living vegetable plants by air – 160,000 tomato plants – pulled from the ground the morning of May 9, 1945, in rural Tifton, Georgia, flown 700 miles and set out again in the same day.
This emergency shipment came about when a warm Georgia spring quickly grew the tomato plants almost too big to transplant at their destination in Ohio, where the weather remained freezing.
The plants were going to a field belonging to the H.J. Heinz Company – yes, the Heinz ketchup folks – whose ads promised “pure juice of prize tomatoes / picked, pressed and packed the same day.”
At the first break in the Ohio weather, we loaded 5,000 pounds of tomato plants into a military cargo plane, recently acquired from the U.S. Army. Two Department of Agriculture specialists, with 60 pounds of equipment, went along to test the reaction of the plants to flight. Newspaper reporters and a representative from the War Food Administration were also onboard. The Tift County Chamber of Commerce cheered as the plane took off for Bowling Green.
Shown here, Paul Pate, head of Delta Cargo, watches as Harry Hornbuckle, the tomato plants’ grower, holds a bunch of plants for Dr. E.V. Miller, of the U.S.D.A., to take a temperature reading. This was one of many tests performed during the flight. The scientists concluded that air transport was a favorable way to move live plants. Good news for Delta and Georgia farmers who grew 80% of all U.S. tomato seed plants – a $2.5 million business in 1945.
Now you know a little-remembered piece of aviation/agriculture history! For more Delta “firsts,” check out our recently updated list on the Delta Museum’s website.
Marie Force
Archives Manager
It’s been a little over two months since we launched @DeltaAssist, our customer service handle in Twitter, and today I’m eager to share with you our progress as well as some new updates. Drum roll, please!
Due to the overwhelming success of @DeltaAssist, we’ve decided to expand our hours and double our staff. Our DeltaAssist agents will now be online 7 days a week! The new hours are as follows:
Monday—Friday: 7:00 a.m. to Midnight (Eastern Time)
Saturday—Sunday: 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Eastern Time)
In addition to our new hours, we’re expanding our team to include four new members—Angela, Jonathan, LaShonda & Erika—to join our seasoned staff of DeltaAssist agents.
We’re really excited about this new change and the opportunity to serve you better. I’d like to again thank all of our followers, friends and readers for your feedback and participation with @DeltaAssist—your support has truly helped us develop @DeltaAssist into the best customer service tool it can be.
And remember, you can always find the latest news from Delta on @Delta, @DeltaNewsroom or on Facebook!
I look forward to your thoughts.
Jerry F.
Manager – Reservation Systems & Social Media
