Delta Airlines - History

- What is known today as Delta Air Lines was founded in 1924 in Monroe, Louisiana, as Huff Daland Dusters, commencing commercial flights in mid-June, 1929.

- In 1930, service to Atlanta is initiated, and the company is renamed "Delta Air Corporation."

- Five years later, Delta offers first night service with the Stinson Model A, first Delta aircraft with two pilots.

- In 1940, Douglas DC-2s and DC-3s join the fleet, and flight attendants, called "stewardesses," are being added to flight crews.

- In 1945, the official corporate name becomes Delta Air Lines, Inc., and the airline receives the National Safety Council Award for over 300 million passenger miles and 10 years of flight without a passenger or crew fatality.

- One year later, Delta becomes the first airline with non-stop Chicago-Miami flights.

- In 1949, Delta’s first coach service starts: discounted-fare night flights between Chicago and Miami.

- In 1953, Chicago and Southern Air Lines merger brings Delta its first international routes (to the Caribbean and Caracas), and the airline is called Delta-C&S for the next two years.

- In 1956, Delta installs radars in noses of all its aircraft.

- Three years later, Delta becomes first airline to launch the Douglas DC-8 jet service.

- In 1960, Delta is the first airline to launch the Convair 880 jet service.

- In 1962, Delta activates the electronic SABRE system for "instant" reservations, and one of its DC-8s is the first commercial plane to fly from Los Angeles to Atlanta in less than 3 hours (02:57:11).

- Two years later, the Deltamatic reservation system starts with IBM 7074 computers.

- In 1965, Delta is the first airline to fly the Douglas DC-9 on commercial routes.

- In 1970, Delta's fleet starts using Boeing 747s, and the airline is only using jets now.

- Northeast Airlines merges with Delta, and the airline starts using the Boeing 727.

- In 1973, L-1011 TriStar jets join the fleet.

- Two years later, Delta becomes the first airline to offer its own air express service, a new high priority, guaranteed cargo service called Delta Air Express.

- In 1978, after the Airline Deregulation Act passes, Delta begins its transatlantic service from Atlanta to London.

- In 1979, Delta begins flights to Frankfurt, West Germany, and becomes the first airline in the world to board one million passengers in one city in one month (Atlanta in the month of August).

- Computer reservations systems (CRS) is started in the early 1980s, while the Frequent Flyer Program (changed to SkyMiles in 1995) is launched in 1981.

- In 1984, Delta introduces flights to/from Hawaii.

- Three years later, Western Airlines merges with Delta, becoming the fourth largest U.S. carrier and fifth largest world carrier.

- After first transpacific service begins, Delta opens operations in Asia with regular transpacific flights from Atlanta to Portland, Oregon, to Tokyo.

- In 1990, Delta is the first U.S. airline to offer MD-11 jet service, and together with other 23 civilian airlines, participates in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) during Desert Storm/Desert Shield from 1990-1991, carrying passengers and military cargo.

- One year later, Delta purchases substantially all of Pan Am's transatlantic routes and the Pan Am Shuttle, making this the largest acquisition of flights in airline history.

- In 1995, Delta is the first U.S. carrier to voluntarily ban smoking on all flights.

- Delta starts low-fare airline Delta Express in 1996, with service from Orlando, Florida.

- One year later, Delta introduces Boeing 777s into the fleet and becomes the first airline to board over 100 million passengers in a year. New routes to Latin America are being added.

- In 1998, Delta and SwissCargo lay the foundation of the first international cargo alliance. During the same year, Delta becomes the first airline to install automatic defibrillators on board all of its aircraft.

- In 2000, Delta founded SkyTeam, a global alliance, together with AeroMexico, Air France and Korean Air. At the same time, it places the industry's largest order of regional jets (500).

- In 2003, after two years of continuous progress, Delta becomes the first U.S. airline to offer pre-recorded audio flight information at the gate.

- In 2005, on September, 14, Delta files for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. In late November, Delta starts one of the largest one-month expansions in its history with service on seven new Latin American and Caribbean routes.

- Next year, Delta launches first service to southern Africa with flights between Atlanta and Johannesburg via Dakar, Senegal, providing service to more destinations than any global airline with 124 new non-stop routes and 41 destinations.

- In 2007, Delta defeats hostile takeover attempt by US Airways and completes restructuring plan one year ahead of schedule, emerging from bankruptcy on April 30 and re-listing on the New York Stock Exchange on May 3.

- During 2008, Delta and Northwest merge, creating a truly global airline with major operations in every region of the world, remaining headquartered in Atlanta and keeping its name. Approximately 15 percent of new company’s stock is given to employees.

- Same year, Delta becomes first U.S. airline to announce onboard Wi-Fi for domestic mainline fleet.

- In 2009, Delta celebrates 80 years of passenger service, and its expansion continues...

- During its long history, Delta was involved in only a few deadly incidents, considering the size of its fleet and the huge number of flights. The first one happened in late April, 1947, when a Vultee BT-13 owned by the Tuskegee Aviation Institute landed on top of a Delta DC-3, causing 8 fatalities. Latest deadly incident took place in early July, 1996, when a fan hub of a MD-88 pierced the cabin, causing 2 deaths and 5 injuries.