Mission Statement

The Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum, Inc. serves the family and friends of Delta Air Lines by collecting, preserving, and presenting the history of Delta and its affiliated airlines in ways that are educational and engaging.

In 1990, a group of Delta retirees launched an effort to locate one of Delta's first 1940s Douglas DC-3 aircraft. This combined with an effort to consolidate Delta's memorabilia and archival collections, created a groundswell of support that expanded into a museum.

The goal of the museum is to collect, preserve, and present the history of Delta Air Lines in ways that educate and engage. We serve Delta employees and families, Delta friends, local community organizations and non-profits, and academic researchers.

On May 23, 1995, the Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum, Inc, was incorporated as an independent nonprofit corporation, organized exclusively for public charitable uses and purposes and qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is devoted to collecting and preserving the history and heritage of Delta Air Lines and all of the airlines that have merged with Delta in the past. This includes Chicago & Southern Air Lines (1953), Northeast Airlines (1972), Western Airlines (1987), Northwest Airlines (2008), and information about the acquisition of Pan Am's trans-Atlantic and shuttle routes (1991). The Museum is located in the Delta World Headquarters in Atlanta and is open to Delta employees, retirees, corporate visitors, and to the general public by appointment.

C&S Air Lines Northeast Airlines Western Airlines Pan Am Northwest Airlines

The Museum's collections and facilities include:

  • The Spirit of Delta, Delta’s first 767.  Bought by employees, retirees, and friends and donated to Delta in 1982.  Interior contains two exhibitions.
  • “Ship 41”, the first DC-3 to carry Delta passengers. Restored by volunteers and a core mechanic team, 1993-1999. Winner in 2001 of the first National Trust for Historic Preservation award presented to an aircraft.
  • A 1928 Waco 125 biplane.  Northwest used this plane for flight demonstrations and charters.
  • A 1931 Travel Air, symbolizing Delta's first passenger aircraft.
  • A 1936 Stinson Reliant SE. Nicknamed the “Gull Wing,” this unique aircraft served as an instrument trainer for Northeast Airlines pilots in 1941-1942.
  • Professionally managed archives of artifacts related to Delta and its ancestor airlines. The Archives maintains over 200,000 images, 1,000 films, and one of the world's largest airline uniform collections in a museum.
  • Aviation reference library.
  • Temporary exhibits.
  • Replica of the first Delta station in Monroe, Louisiana.
  • An 800-square-foot museum shop, housed in a redesigned section of the hull of the first L-1011 ever built.

The Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum continues to be award-winning

In Fall 2008, the Delta Air Transport Heritage Museum received two major museum awards. The first award, an Award of Merit by the American Association for State and Local History, was presented in September at a ceremony in Rochester, NY. The award recognizes the Museum's efforts to bring home The Spirit of Delta and turn the plane into a permanent exhibition. The second award, an Award for Excellence in Archival Program Development by the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board, recognizes the efforts the Museum takes to manage and make available Delta's corporate archives.

Did you know this is not the first time the Museum has won major awards? For a list of awards we've received in the past, click here.