Hello Everyone,

I am happy to report that Delta had an exceptional year in 2012. Our team of 80,000 aviation professionals led the airline to the best operational performance in its history with the most on-time arrivals and lowest cancellation percentage. It’s a real testament of the Delta team’s dedication and efforts to make sure you’re in good hands whenever you fly with us.

Their diligence and tireless efforts meant more passengers made it to their destination on time and without interruption. This infographic tells that story.

Day in and day out, Delta people have your back. We look forward to serving you and exceeding your expectations again in 2013.

Thanks,

Dave Holtz

Vice President, Operations Control

During the past 12 months, the 80,000 professional men and women at Delta have worked diligently on your behalf to provide a safe, reliable, convenient and friendly travel experience. In 2012, Delta turned out the best performance in the history of the airline, including a 78 percent improvement in completed flights, a 5 percent improvement in on-time arrivals and a 27 percent improvement in baggage handling. Our team’s dedication to running a reliable operation also meant more opportunities to exceed your expectations, which resulted in a 37 percent reduction in customer complaints.

We have your back, and we intend to make 2013 even better for you.

While safety and reliability are what you expect from Delta, we believe you also deserve a comfortable, convenient and friendly travel experience – one that allows you to maximize your time on the ground and in the air.

We continue to invest in technology that allows you to connect with us in the manner you prefer. This $120 million investment includes the first phase of a new delta.com website that will simplify your journey and give you greater control of your travel experience. We continue to improve the speed of our kiosks, allowing you to check in an average of 18 seconds faster, and we’re adding more of our popular recharging stations at top airports to make it easier for you to stay connected.

By summer we will complete our largest project – renovating and expanding Terminal 4 at New York’s JFK International Airport to create a world-class facility fitting for the world’s largest travel market.

No other US airline is investing as much as Delta in facilities and improvements on the ground. We’re not stopping there.

By the end of this year, full flat-bed seats with direct aisle access will be the standard for our BusinessElite cabin onboard all of our widebody international aircraft. New and expanded cuisine, amenities and in-flight entertainment will allow to you relax and feel refreshed upon landing. If your travel requires a greater level of productivity, we hope you will take advantage of onboard Wi-Fi or streaming content. We’re pleased to be the largest provider of in-flight Wi-Fi in the world and look forward to expanding further by offering Wi-Fi access aboard international flights beginning in 2013.

If you love the look and feel of new aircraft and the smell of new leather, you’ll be pleased to experience beginning in the third quarter two aircraft types that are new to Delta’s fleet – the Boeing 737-900 and Boeing 717. These aircraft are part of our strategy to fly larger, more fuel efficient planes while reducing smaller regional jets. These new aircraft offer more first class seats for our premium customers and help us conserve fuel and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

We have a busy but exciting year ahead of us as we continue to improve our products and services to meet your travel needs. The on-board product – seats, aircraft, in-flight entertainment – are an important part of the experience we provide to you. Equally as important is the opportunity to make your journey that much better through the gracious service of Delta people worldwide.

We look forward to continuing to build a better airline for you.

Thanks for flying with us.

Richard Anderson

Many of you have expressed concern about a Washington Post blog account about a Marine who had a negative experience on a recent Delta flight. We too are unsettled by this incident.

We attempted to reach the customer as soon as we became aware of the situation, but so far have been unsuccessful in speaking with him directly.

An internal review is already underway to understand what occurred and take appropriate action. What is clear is that we did not care for this customer the way we should have. This incident doesn’t reflect the care with which Delta people serve our customers every day, and it doesn’t reflect the high regard we hold for those who do and have served our country.

We have the utmost respect and admiration for our active duty military and veterans who make tremendous sacrifices to protect and sustain the freedoms we enjoy every day; and our Delta team is typically very good at showing their respect through various means of recognition. Unfortunately, we failed in this situation. We strive to exceed expectations with every customer, and particularly regret when we fail a member of the military or person with a disability. We are taking this isolated situation very seriously and doing what we can to make it right with the customer.

Our efforts to do better for our customers are constant, but incidents like this one always make us pause to revisit service standards. We are doing that now; and will make this as right as we can for this customer, which will help to prevent situations like this in the future.

Thanks for voicing your concerns,

Allison Ausband, vice president – Customer Care