As the individuals responsible for the safety and security of their flight and everyone on board, pilots industry-wide do have authority over their aircraft within the parameters set by their individual carrier. Although, following a situation like this it is standard to review the matter with the pilots and talk with them about their decision so we can have our own understanding.

On Friday, once all the follow-up screenings had been completed, Delta ground crew immediately offered our apologies and worked to get these passengers booked on our next available flight and did everything possible to help make the passengers comfortable while they waited.

We want you to know that as a global carrier we transport people from every country of the world, every religion, every ethnicity and every race, and we take very seriously the trust our customers place in us. Our employees represent countries all over the world, and wouldn’t have it any other way.

But most importantly, although we were not the operators of the flight, these passengers are our customers and we would like to join Atlantic Southeast once again in offering an apology for any impact the situation had on both them and their travel.

Toby Broberg

Director, Customer Care

In 1958, kiddie wings made their debut as part of Delta’s Royal Service first-class flights on Douglas DC-7 aircrafts.  Boys were given “junior pilot” wings while “junior stewardess” wings were handed out to girls.

Kiddie wings took different shapes and forms over the years, but Delta is thrilled to bring them back after a few years off.

There are two varieties – a gold wings pin that a Delta pilot may give customers and a silver wings pin that will be given from Flight Attendants. Both feature the red Delta widget, of course!

So will you be able to take a pair of wings with you off your next Delta flight? You just might! Our crew members are just now getting the new wings to hand out to customers.

Delta First Officer Dan Millerborg awards kiddie wings to a proud new owner.

And if you are a proud new owner of Delta kiddie wings (or have your old wings), tweet us a photo to @Delta of you sporting your wings, or post it on our Facebook page!

Marie Force

Archives Manager

That final destination was none other than the world headquarters of Delta Air Lines – a destination more sought after than lazily sipping a Pina Colada under a swaying palm tree by calm waters on the shores of a white Caribbean beach or skiing down the challenging snow-covered slopes of the wintry Alps.

I’m serious.

From October 21 through October 24, 2010, attendees of The 2010 Second Annual Delta Air Lines FlyerTalk Event were treated to an intimate inside look at the heart and soul of Delta Air Lines, including tours of the Delta Heritage Museum, the Technical Operations Center, the Operations Control Center, and the towers above Concourses A and E at the airport in Atlanta.

We also met senior executives during a five-hour question-and-answer session, worked as gate agents for the morning, piloted flight simulators, sampled Delta’s on-board food options near the Spirit of Delta Boeing 767 aircraft and attended an intensive day of Road Warrior Training – a program designed as a way to sample the training flight attendants must complete. We even got to go down the evacuation slide!

This event was designed to allow frequent fliers and Delta Air Lines employees to personally interact with each other to gain a better first-hand understanding of how the airline operates and what customers really want in an ideal flight experience. This event overwhelmingly exceeded those expectations. One thing’s for sure—we’ll never look at air travel quite the same way again.

And FlyerTalk members are already talking about next year’s visit!

Brian C.

FlyerTalk Event Participant

Employees & their families fly on NW #2470

NW 2470 departed for LAS (on time I might add) with a crew of five and about 20 reservations and technology department employees (some accompanied by family members) who purchased tickets well in advance and traveled from around the system to be there. It was pretty impressive that this group of dedicated employees didn’t even stay to enjoy LAS — most boarded red-eyes to get back home! A certificate to commemorate flight 2470, designed by one of our flight attendants, was handed out to the employees and crew and many passed theirs along for autographs. Cameras were flashing, folks were cheering and two cakes were consumed as we boarded. I was so happy to be part of the celebration.

The crew of flight 2470

Joanne Smith, Senior Vice President

In-Flight Service

I am very excited to be joining another great legacy airline and am very proud to be wearing the Delta uniform. On the morning of March 30th, our crew gathered in the lobby of the hotel and we all commented on how professional and classy each other looked in our new uniforms. You must understand that the Northwest flight attendants had not seen a new uniform since 1990!

We landed in Minneapolis and the whole airport had been transformed into the Delta brand. I just flew from Honolulu to Seattle and got to experience new boarding music and some of the new food on board the aircraft.

The spring of 2009 has special meaning for me because is represents the new beginning for the people of Northwest and Delta. Spring is a symbol of new life and also a sign of many great things to come!

Scott Schaefer
757 First Officer for 13 years
Detroit

In 1936, Delta flew the Lockheed 10 Electras, which cruised 160 miles per hour and held 10 passengers, 2 pilots and our first complimentary meal service—box lunches served by the co-pilot.

At mealtime, the co-pilot would walk to the rear of the Electra. He handed box lunches to the closest passengers and they passed them forward amongst themselves. As the co-pilot made his way back to the cockpit, he poured passengers coffee from a thermos. The box lunches usually contained two sandwiches, fruit (apple, orange or banana) and a small cake.

Marie Force

Archives Manager

Five years later, on Christmas Eve 1940, Delta flew its first revenue DC-3 flight with “Ship 41.”

Since I’ve been lucky enough to fly this fully restored, original in every detail, DC-3, I thought I’d write a little about the “Ship 41” in Delta’s Heritage Museum.

“Ship 41” was actually the second of five DC-3s purchased by Delta. The first arrived November 29, 1940 and was used to train pilots for the next DC-3s to arrive. “Ship 41” arrived on December 23, 1940 and carried passengers the next day. Three more planes were delivered in the next 10 days. These and the additional DC-3s Delta purchased flew in revenue service until the early 1960s.

Here are a few pictures of Delta’s award winning, 1940 DC-3 known as “Ship 41.” I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Tailwinds, Robin

By way of introductions, I’m a pilot for Delta and very excited about Delta’s reach into the “new media” world.

I hope to become a regular poster giving you an inside view into my world at Delta.

I’ve been very lucky to have a few “odd jobs” around Delta from working in our Operations Control Center to writing a newsletter for our furloughed pilots to producing an internal Flight Operations podcast to flying the antique planes in our museum.

In the coming months, I plan to show you what the heck is inside my flight kit, take you on a tour of our Operations Control Center, show you where we train, and take you through some of our archives.

When I say “show you,” I mean it. I just got a new video recorder. I really want this to be a conversation, so, if there is something you’d like me to show you, post it in the comments.

Tailwinds,
Robin