Delta Museum - Delta History

January

PHOTO: Drawing of Electra interior, 1935

Jan 1	First airline to ban smoking on all flights in 1995.
Jan 1	SkyMiles no longer expire in 2011, making Delta the only major U.S. carrier without mileage expiration for loyal program members.
Jan 5	MD-88 service starts in 1988.
Jan 10	Delta's first all-metal plane, the Lockheed 10 Electra, begins service in 1936.
Jan 18	Delta presents a Huff Daland Duster to the Smithsonian Institution in 1968, as a memorial to founder C.E. Woolman.
Jan 31	After Northwest Airlines officially merged with Delta on October 29, 2008, the merged airlines start single operations in 2009.

February

PHOTO: Servicing MD-11 in Atlanta, 1992

Feb 1	Delta's largest propeller-driven plane, the DC-7, retires in 1968.
Feb 5	First U.S. airline with MD-11 service in 1991.
Feb 10	Convair 880 sets a transcontinental record on its delivery flight in 1960, San Diego-Miami (3 hours, 31 minutes, 54 seconds with average speed 641.77 mph).
Feb 14	David Schafer is Delta's first 10 Million Miler customer in 2003.

March

PHOTO: "Japan Delta Style" poster, 1987

Mar 1	Headquarters move to Atlanta, in 1941.
Mar 2	First Delta trans-Pacific flight in 1987 (Portland, OR-Tokyo).
Mar 8	In 1962, a Delta DC-8 is the first commercial airplane to fly Los Angeles to Atlanta in less than 3 hours (02:57:11).
Mar 15	14-passenger DC-2 service starts with an extra crew member in 1940—Delta's first flight attendants.

April

PHOTO: "Now Jet Delta to London" ad, 1978

Apr 1	Douglas DC-7 service begins in 1954.
Apr 1	Western Airlines merges with Delta in 1987, bringing new routes to Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii and Western Canada.
Apr 1	Delta flies its first MD-82 in 1987, later converted into the MD-88.
Apr 2	MD-90 service starts in 1995.
Apr 12	Launches first airline social media "ticket counter" in 2010, selling tickets on Facebook.
Apr 14	Delta and Northwest Airlines announce intention to merge in 2008.
Apr 25	Delta retires its last Convair 440 in 1970. Delta's passenger aircraft fleet is now 100% jets.
Apr 30	Delta's first trans-Atlantic flight takes off (Atlanta-London) in 1978.

May

PHOTO: Miss San Diego christening Convair 880.

May 1	Chicago and Southern Air Lines merges with Delta in 1953, bringing Delta's first international routes (to Caracas and the Caribbean).
May 1	Boeing 777 service starts in 1999.
May 9	In 1945, Delta transports world's first shipment of living vegetable plants by air—tomato plants from Tifton, GA.
May 15	One-millionth Delta passenger is Mary Frances Carroll, an accountant from Chicago, on vacation to Miami in 1946.
May 15	World's first Convair 880 jet service in 1960.

June

PHOTO: Early Delta brochure for business travelers.

Jun 1	Delta and TWA inaugurate the first interchange service in the U.S., in 1948. TWA crews fly Delta planes from Cincinnati to Detroit. Delta flies TWA planes from Cincinnati, south to Atlanta, Miami and Dallas.
Jun 12	Delta starts service to Atlanta in 1930.
Jun 17	In 1929, Delta Air Service operates its first passenger flight: Dallas, TX, to Jackson, MS, with stops in Monroe and Shreveport, LA.

July

PHOTO: DC-8 at jetway in Atlanta, 1959.

Jul 2	Delta flies the 8-passenger Stinson A in 1935. Required the company's first 2-pilot flight crew.
Jul 22	Delivery of the DC-8—Delta's first jet—in 1959. When the DC-8 arrived in Atlanta, it pulled up to Delta's (and ATL's) first passenger bridge, the "Jetway."
Jul 31	Last Delta L-1011 service flight in 2001. Delta flew a total of 70 L-1011s since 1973, many in international service.

August

PHOTO: Loading freight onto a C-47 in 1947.

Aug 1	Northeast Airlines merges with Delta in 1972, bringing new routes from Boston to Miami, Bermuda and Canada, and Delta's first Boeing 727s.
Aug 4	Delta awarded its first mail contract by the U.S. Post Office in 1934, flying Air Mail Route 24, from Ft. Worth, TX — Charleston, SC. Delta resumes passenger service discontinued in 1930.
Aug 7	First airline to offer in-flight power sources in 1996, allowing customer to plug-in their laptop computers at their seats.
Aug 12	First airline to offer live TV programming in 1996.
Aug 15	Regularly scheduled cargo service begins in 1946.

September

PHOTO: C.E. Woolman with DC-3, early 1940s.

Sep 11	Delta's principal founder and first CEO, C.E. Woolman, dies in 1966.
Sep 15	Delta is first with turboprop L-100 Hercules cargo service in 1966.
Sep 18	Delta enters the Jet Age, with world's first DC-8 service in 1959.

October

PHOTO: 747 on timetable cover, 12/15/1970.

Oct 8	Birthday of C.E. Woolman, Delta's principal founder and first CEO, born in 1889.
Oct 25	Delta flies its first wide-body jet, the Boeing 747, in 1970.
Oct 29	Official corporate name becomes Delta Air Lines in 1945.
Oct 29	Northwest Airlines officially merges with Delta in 2008; single operations begin in January 2009.
October	Onboard recycling efforts start in 1990, with flight attendants collecting aluminum drink cans on flights into Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles and Salt Lake City.

November

PHOTO: Pan Am's famous logo.

Nov 1	In 1991, Delta acquires Pan Am's trans-Atlantic and shuttle routes in the largest acquisition of flights in airline history at the time.
Nov 29	World's first Douglas DC-9 unscheduled passenger service starts with a single day of publicity flights in 1965. Daily scheduled service begins on December 8th.

December

PHOTO: Spirit of Delta dedication ceremony, 1982.

Dec 1	Delta flies the DC-6, its first pressurized aircraft, in 1948.
Dec 3	In 1928, Delta Air Service is incorporated and named for the Mississippi River Delta region it served.
Dec 8	World's first Douglas DC-9 scheduled service in 1965.
Dec 15	Delta's first Boeing 767, The Spirit of Delta, begins service in 1982. Delta employees raised $30 million to purchase the plane as a gift for the company.
Dec 16	Delta begins coach service in 1949, initially as reduced-fare night flights between Chicago and Miami.