Fun Facts about Delta History

The earliest printed Delta Air Service passenger ticket in the Delta Archives was sold on August 14, 1929 (almost two months after the first passenger flight), to F.L. Cadon, of Atlanta. He flew from Monroe, Louisiana, to Jackson, Mississippi, for $13.25.

Delta's early passengers sometimes helped the pilot crank up the Travel Air airplanes by hand by spinning the propeller.

Co-pilots served Delta's first complimentary boxed lunches in 1935, on board 10-passenger all-metal Lockheed Electras.

In a 1940 inaugural ceremony, Delta's first DC-3, Ship 40, was christened "City of Atlanta" with a bottle of Coca-Cola by actress Jane Withers, an Atlanta native. A second plane—a Boeing 777—was christened with Coca-Cola, as the "Spirit of Atlanta," in January 2011.

Delta's DC-3, Ship 43, named "City of Miami," was christened with orange juice by the Orange Bowl Queen of 1944.

Delta's first flight attendants, called "stewardesses" at the time, were registered nurses.

In the early days of cargo service in the mid-1940s, Delta flew three commodities in particular: newspapers, shrimp, and tomato plants.

Male flight attendants joined the cabin crews on board Delta jets in 1973. However, not many know that for a short time, Delta employed 25 male pursers on its 44-passenger Douglas DC-4 aircraft (March 1946-July 1947). Each worked with a female flight attendant as a team of two.

Delta stock first traded on the New York Stock Exchange at $26.25 per share on April 17, 1957 (ticker symbol DAL).

In 1958, Delta was the only airline not serving alcoholic beverages on its domestic routes. Delta began selling alcohol on March 8, 1958, on its Houston-New York City route to attract customers from Eastern Airlines.

The first baby was born on a Delta airplane in 1959. Mrs. Hugh Ector, with the assistance of a flight attendant, gave birth to an 8 lb., 4 oz. girl, Suzanne, while in mid-flight over Malden, Missouri. Delta wings were used as diaper pins.

Edith Head, chief fashion designer at Paramount Movie Studios, designed Delta's first "Jet Age" flight attendant uniform. Worn winters 1959 to 1965, the uniform featured a shirtwaist dress of honey-colored wool gabardine with a "jet flame" orange ascot.

Delta's red, white and navy blue triangle logo, nicknamed "the widget," was introduced in 1959, when Delta entered the jet era with the DC-8. Its shape resembles the swept wing appearance of a jet seen overhead.

The first Delta Boeing 747 was christened "Georgia Belle," in 1970, by sprinkling gold dust over the plane's nose from Georgia's Dahlonega mines.

Singer Elvis Presley purchased a former Delta Convair 880, for his private jet in April 1975. Elvis paid $250,000 for the plane and spent over a half a million dollars refurbishing it. The jet was named the "Lisa Marie" in honor of Elvis' daughter, and nicknamed "Hound Dog I." Image source: The Elvis Presley Newsletter, April 27, 2002.

Delta employees purchased a brand-new Boeing 767, named "Spirit of Delta" for the company in 1982. You can visit the Spirit of Delta at the Delta Museum. Check here for tour times.