It’s been a busy few months here at JFK while we’ve been working to renovate Terminal 4. We’re excited about our progress, and as the project is getting closer to completion we wanted to provide an update on all of the changes! Check out this time-lapse video to see where we are today:

Those of you traveling through JFK have seen the construction areas — parts of the food court removed and expansion of the security lanes. With this expansion, security lane waiting times will be reduced and give you access to walk between concourses like you do now in Atlanta, Detroit and Salt Lake City. Think of all the concession choices!

The last heavy steel beam on the terminal is scheduled to go up on Nov. 2 to signal the framework of the building is near completion. Fun fact: the hard working hard-hat workers who have been building the addition to Terminal 4 will sign the last steel girder that will be installed for the concourse.

And a special thanks to Airport Customer Service here at JFK. They’ve shifted aircraft and closed gates to accommodate us, and we’re very grateful for all of their hard work in helping bring this terminal to life!

Our goal is to have the new Terminal complete by May 2013, so we hope you’ll come check it out!

Ryan Marzullo

Deputy Program Director for the JFK redevelopment project

October is LGBT History Month which was originally meant to coincide with National Coming Out Day on Oct 11 and the first LGBT march on Washington that was held in 1979. It also marks a celebration of Pride in our hometown of Atlanta this weekend with employees showing their rainbow colors during our two day festival and Pride parade!

Other significant days in October for the LGBT community now include Spirit Day on Oct. 20, where people around the country wear purple in support of LGBT youth and Ally Week, a week in which allies against LGBT bullying are acknowledged.

Every year Delta employees proudly march in Pride parades and volunteer at festivals across the globe. Here’s a photo from last year in NYC (one of my favorites)!

This month reminds us here at Delta of all the ways our colleagues have helped us continue to build and expand our strong relationships with the LGBT community around the world. From offering domestic partner benefits to our employees to supporting Pride celebrations, GLAAD Awards, amfAR and more, our roots in the LGBT community run deep.

Just like many of our customers, we’ve been there waving a rainbow flag to proudly show our support throughout the years. We hope to see you this weekend, and look forward to serving you on your next Delta flight very soon. And if you have a vacation or special trip coming up, remember to check out delta.com/gaytravel for some great ideas!

In Pride,

Paul Skrbec

Secretary, Delta Gay-Lesbian Employee Network

Hello, my name is Oreva Aki and I‘m a 15 year old rising Junior at North Gwinnett High School in Atlanta. Today I want to share with you my experiences with Delta and the ACE Academy, which is a program sponsored by the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) designed for young adults, ages 14-18, to learn more about aviation. During this program, the attendees go on field trips to tour aviation facilities, learning more about aviation history and the career choices in aviation.

This is my second year attending the Aviation Career Education (ACE) Academy, and this year I am attending as a peer counselor, which means I work with the new students as part of their first ACE camp experience.  Throughout the week we participate in activities like a tour of the Atlantic Southeast Airlines TOC tire and engine shop, Delta Training Center (we learned about flight attendant training and performed an actual simulator evacuation!), tour of the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Fire Department 33, Radar Hill, and the Air Traffic Control Tower. It was a really neat experience learning about what goes on behind the scenes at these facilities.

The Dream Flight on Wednesday (check out the pic!) was the highlight of the week for me. Every year as part of the ACE camp program Delta and OBAP sponsor a flight to an aviation facility in the US. Last year we flew to Melbourne, Fla. and this year we flew to Pensacola, Fla., where we saw the Blue Angels perform as well as toured the Naval Aviation Museum. This was an amazing and fun experience for me because I’ve always wanted to see a live show of the Blue Angels. Plus yesterday I enjoyed my second Discovery Flight. Last year the Discovery Flight was my first time flying in a piper aircraft  (which is a general aviation aircraft) with an instructor, so it was thrilling to have a chance to do it again.

The ACE Academy is a tremendous experience, not just to learn about aviation but to be able to gain new skills and network. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be a part of this great program; it has changed the way I view my future tremendously. I’m not sure yet whether I will choose a career in aviation and become an aerospace engineer or a neonatologist, but I do know that I love aviation and aspire to get my private pilot’s license when I’m older.