The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival recently wrapped up in New York City, and Delta Air Lines had a starring role!

As the official airline for the Festival again this year, I’m proud to say that this is just one of many sponsorship platforms that Delta uses to demonstrate positive change in the communities we serve; and, New York is certainly no exception. As many New Yorkers know, The Tribeca Film Festival was founded by actor Robert De Niro and others following the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan with an annual celebration of film, music, and culture. For those outside of the New York City area, TriBeCa is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan. The name is an acronym for Triangle Below Canal Street.

It was indeed a privilege for me to represent Delta Air Lines, as I presented the best actor and actress awards during the Filmmaker Awards ceremony last Thursday evening. Over the weekend, we participated in the Tribeca-associated Delta Family Festival Street Fair on Greenwich Street. Great times were had by all! As you can see, a few of us even met the original cast of the movie ‘Gotta Dance.’ It just so happened that we chose their movie at a private screening for our premium customers on Saturday afternoon and then we bumped into them walking down the street right after!

The 2008 festival ran from April 23rd through May 4th, and included 121 feature films and 79 short films representing 41 different countries. Among them were 53 world premieres, 6 international premieres, and 30 North American premieres.

At Delta Air Lines, our passion for New York is stronger than ever. Supporting the community through our significant role in the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival is just one of the many ways that we demonstrate our dedication and commitment to this great city.

Thank you for your support of Delta Air Lines. We appreciate your business.

Brian T. Rutter

Director - Sales & Marketing

New York

Hello,

I’m one of the very fortunate 40 Delta employees who were chosen as volunteers for the Habitat for Humanity (HFH) build outside of Mumbai, India, Nov. 12-15.

I can’t wait to get there and meet everyone involved — from my peers, to the passengers that will join us (for the first time), to the locals but mostly the families who will be living in the homes we build.

To be able to work with and get to know the actual families who will live in the homes we build is going to be the highlight of my week. Their smiling faces will forever be etched in my memory.

To me, Delta’s Force for Global Good, a program that unites Delta employees and customers in support of philanthropic and socially-responsible efforts throughout the world, and HFH creates the perfect partnership.

Beyond giving back to the communities that we serve and providing families in need a decent place to live, it gives employees, and now passengers, an opportunity to volunteer to do something that makes them feel good and to see the results of their hard work.

We’ll work together as a team (something we are very used to doing at Delta) in a very different setting than at the airport, in the office or onboard our aircraft. Our team spirit and sense of pride is going to be contagious.

It’s amazing to me that we have passengers who feel such passion and loyalty to us that they also want to represent Delta and do good things in the global community. And, to donate their time and hard earned SkyMiles to participate is honorable.

I think they’re in for a real treat! They’ll see first hand the bond that we share simply because we work for Delta. Most of us don’t know each other, but we’ll interact together as though we’re old friends. When we come together on a mission, there’s no stopping us. I have no doubt they’ll fit right in!

This is going to be one spectacular journey.

Michelle
Fort Myers, FL

Hey everyone,

OK, so you want to use your miles for a luxurious vacation to Hawaii, Europe or another exotic destination, right? I can’t blame you. However, many of your fellow SkyMiles members are now bidding their hard-earned miles to do physical labor in a foreign country.

SkyMiles members (and my Delta co-workers) are buzzing about the chance to be a part of the growing “voluntourism” trend and participate in the first-ever SkyMiles Global Good Auction.

The winning bidder and a guest will take off with Delta’s Force for Global Good and Habitat for Humanity in November on an around-the-world experience, which will include accommodations, airfare, a four-day build in Mumbai and sightseeing around India. Participants will join 40 Delta employees to build 100 homes, where more than 600 men, women and children will eventually reside.

So far, we’ve seen a great response! With less than four days of bidding left, 44 SkyMiles members have bid on the package, and the current bid is 110,000 miles. To top the off the altruism, the winning mileage bid will be donated to Habitat for Humanity.

So you still have time to check out the SkyMiles Auction for more details on the Habitat build and our other cool Auction packages (maybe a spa outing or golf getaway in Florida is more your speed?). Then, bid your miles and enjoy!

Jeff Robertson
Managing Director - SkyMiles

P.S. – We plan to add a new slate of Auction items once a quarter so be sure to check them out regularly and let us know what you think.