Timeline
Through the Decades
Explore Delta's history and achievements and discover how the airline went from dusting crops to serving over 320 destinations on six continents.
Choose a decade:
1950s - Delta expands internationally, pioneers the hub and spoke
1950 First official Delta souvenir for children, a paper Junior Pilot Certificate—handed out to both girls and boys.
1952 Delta flies Convair 340 planes; modified to Model -440 standards in 1956.
1953 Chicago and Southern Air Lines merger brings Delta its first international routes to the Caribbean and Caracas. Airline called Delta-C&S for the next two years. Delta inherits from C&S its first customer recognition program—Flying Colonel, one of air transport’s coveted awards. Lockheed Constellations join the fleet.
1954 First class service begins, as Golden Crown Service on Douglas DC-7 flights. Delta introduces reserved seats—Golden Crown customers can select their seat when they check in at the airport. First airline to supplement visual inspection of aircraft parts with a portable x-ray machine to examine interior structures.
1955 Delta pioneers extensive development of the hub-and-spoke system in the 1950s. Using Atlanta as a cross-connecting point, Delta expands service choices and frequencies for medium and smaller southeastern communities to distant, larger cities and each other, beyond what they could support with direct, point-to-point flights.
Arriving and departing flights were scheduled for operational efficiency in Atlanta, where passengers connected to other flights. Eastern Air Lines also began to group flights by connecting times at ATL, and by 1955, between the hours of noon and 2 p.m. — the "noon push" — Atlanta was the busiest air transfer hub in the world.
1956 Weather-avoidance radar installed in noses of all Delta aircraft.
1957 Delta airport lounges (today's Sky Clubs) introduced when Delta opens a Golden Crown Room at the Atlanta airport with invitation-only access for VIP guests. In 1958/59, the name was shortened to "Crown Room." By 1961, Delta had Crown Rooms at Atlanta, Miami, Dallas and Detroit.
1957 Forklifts and conveyer belts installed for handling cargo and baggage in all larger cities served by Delta. A new truck lift cuts in half the time it takes to load and unload planes.
1958 Luxurious Douglas DC-7 Royal Service first-class flights offer three—instead of the usual two—flight attendants, boarding music by Muzak, complimentary champagne and steaks cooked to order. Children receive Delta’s first “kiddie wings” souvenir pins.
1959 Delta is first airline to launch Douglas DC-8 jet service. The red, white, and blue triangle "widget" becomes Delta's logo, resembling the swept-wing appearance of a jet. First airline to offer complimentary meals on discounted coach flights.
1959 First baby born on a Delta flight: Suzanne Ector, over Malden, Missouri, at 9,000 feet. Flight attendant wings are used as diaper pins.