1920s

  • huff dealandFirst commercial aerial crop dusting company in the world (as predecessor company Huff Daland Dusters, established 1924).
  • First international mail and passenger route on the west coast of South America (in 1927 in Peru as Huff Daland Dusters. Route sold to Pan American Grace (Panagra) in 1928).

1940s

  • Transported the first shipment of living vegetable plants by air on May 9, 1945. 160,000 tomato plants were pulled from the ground in Tifton, Georgia, flown 700 miles, and set out again at Bowling Green, Ohio. Two Department of Agriculture specialists went along to test the reaction of the plants to flight.
  • First airline to establish non-stop Chicago-Miami service (November 1946).
  • First airline to offer packaged summer vacations to Miami (Summer 1947). Delta Millionaire Dream Vacations, later renamed Delta Dream Vacations, greatly increased tourism to Miami, and helped change the economy of Miami from a four-month year to a normal 12-month year.
  • First interchange service in the United States was the Delta-TWA interchange, inaugurated on June 1, 1948, over the airlines' Miami-Detroit routes. Delta and TWA crews—not the passengers—changed planes in Cincinnati.

1950s

  • First airline to supplement visual inspection of aircraft parts with a portable x-ray machine to examine interior structures. in 1954.
  • The first Douglas DC-7 flight between two continents was operated by Delta (Chicago-Caracas, April 1955).
  • Delta was an early hub and spoke system pioneer in 1955. Airplanes were scheduled to bring passengers to a hub airport where travelers connected to other Delta flights enroute to destinations far and near.
  • First to offer complimentary meals on all coach flights during the day (May 1959).
  • First airline to offer passengers steaks cooked to order.

Early Jet Age, 1959-1960s

  • World's first Douglas DC-8 jet service on September 18, 1959.
  • First airline to introduce three commercial jets (the Douglas DC-8 in 1959, Convair 880 on May 15, 1960, and Douglas DC-9 on November 29, 1965).
  • First to provide California with single-carrier jet service to the South in 1961.
  • The Caribbean was linked with the West Coast in December 1961, when Delta inaugurated the first jet service from California to Montego Bay and Caracas.
  • First to operate the Lockheed L-100 in scheduled cargo service (September 15, 1966).
  • First to operate the larger Lockheed L-100-20 version in 1968.

1970s

  • First airline to simultaneously operate three of the first generation wide-bodied jets—the Boeing 747, Douglas DC-10, and Lockheed L-1011 in 1973.
  • First airline to offer its own air express service. Delta launched a new high priority guaranteed cargo service, called Delta Air Express, on March 3, 1975. Shipments had guaranteed reservation, expedited ground handling and preferred aircraft loading: right after mail and before regular air freight.
  • First domestic airline to order and fly the Lockheed L-1011-500 (June 1979).
  • First airline in the world to board one million passengers in one city in one month (Atlanta, August 1979).

1980s

delta_1980s_in-flight_video
  • First airline to make a major move from film to video in-flight entertainment. Delta equipped its entire trans-Atlantic Lockheed L-1011 fleet for video in the early 1980s, then all its 1011s and new Boeing 767 and 757 fleets. By the late 1980s, Delta was the world's second largest user of in-flight movies (after United Airlines).
  • First of the major U.S. carriers to meet new standards reducing flyover noise in airport neighborhoods (Federal Air Regulation Part 36). Delta's entire jet fleet was noise compliant in November 1983, a year ahead of the federal deadline.
  • For 17 consecutive years (1974-1991), ranked #1 among major U.S. airlines for the fewest number of passenger complaints per 100,000 passengers by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

1990s

  • First airline to operate the MD-11 in scheduled service in the U.S. (February 5, 1991).
  • First U.S. carrier to ban smoking on all flights in 1995. (Northwest Airlines, which merged with Delta in 2008, was the first carrier to ban smoking on all flights in North America in 1988.)
  • The airline industry's first seasonal menus offering spring/summer and fall/winter menus in 1995.
  • First airline to offer in-seat power in 1996.
  • World's first live broadcast television programming in 1996. (Western Airlines, which merged with Delta in 1987, had the first in-flight television in 1932, a one-time media event on Fokker 10 aircraft).
  • First airline to board 100 million passengers in a single year in 1997.
  • First airline to board over 2 million passengers in one city in one month (Atlanta, 1997).
  • First airline to install automatic defibrillators on board all of its aircraft in 1998.

2000-2010

  • First airline in the world with a repricing tool allowing customers to change tickets and pay the applicable fees in one quick electronic transaction in May 2000. Traditionally, customers were required to visit a Delta airport or ticket office to complete a ticket reissue when travel plans changed. The new system eliminated the need for Delta customers who had electronic tickets to stand in line to make the ticket change.
  • First airline to launch a comprehensive security solution aircraft: MD-88, Ship 920, with an enhanced transponder system, cabin video surveillance system and a cockpit door security bar – in November 2001.
  • First airline to offer flight attendants personal defense training.
  • First U.S. airline to offer prerecorded audio flight information at gates (September 15, 2003).
  • First airline to offer mileage gift cards (February 2004).
  • First airline to employ a computerized system to serve passengers whose flights were delayed of canceled in 2004. Delta passengers with connecting flights delayed more than 2 hours or canceled could retrieve food and hotel vouchers automatically through kiosks or gate scanners without standing in line and waiting for a gate agent to assist.
  • recycling deltaFirst airline with a comprehensive on-board recycling program that expands beyond the traditional aluminum can recycling to include newspapers, snack containers and water bottles in 2007.

  • First U.S. airline to offer customers the opportunity to offset carbon emissions associated with air travel in 2007. When you purchase a ticket online at delta.com, you can make a donation to environmental nonprofit Conservation Fund, to plant new trees.

  • First airline with a comprehensive on-board recycling program that expands beyond the traditional aluminum can recycling to include newspapers, snack containers and water bottles in 2007.

  • The airline industry's first social media "Ticket Window" opened in 2010, allowing customers to book flights directly from Delta's Facebook page and other social media sites.
  • Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Delta AirElite, Delta is the only U.S. airline offering customers combined access to commercial and private jet service in June 2010. Customers can book scheduled commercial flights and on-demand private jet service in a single transaction using a pre-paid AirElite account.

2011-2015

  • Eliminated SkyMiles mileage expiration, effective January 1, 2011, making Delta the only major U.S. carrier without mileage expiration for loyalty program members. Previously, miles expired 24 months after a member's last qualifying mileage activity, which required a member to earn or redeem miles within that period.
  • First major carrier allowing customers to track their checked bags online from scanning at check-in, to the flight the bags were loaded on, and then to arrival at baggage claim, in April 2011.
  • Delta is the first airline in the world to provide Internet service onboard its regional aircraft with the launch flight of Wi-Fi-equipped Bombardier CRJ700 operated by Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines on September 7, 2011.
  • First airline to introduce mobile baggage tracking in November 2011. Customers can use the Fly Delta app to track checked bags by their bag tag receipt, even while in flight.
  • delta wifiDelta is the first airline in the world to provide Internet service onboard its regional aircraft with the launch flight of Wi-Fi-equipped Bombardier CRJ700 operated by Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines on September 7, 2011.