Delta Air Lines is a major American airline with a history that goes back to 1924.
Delta's origins can be traced to a decision by B. R. Coad and Collett E. Woolman. Coad was an employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's field laboratory in Tallulah, Louisiana; Woolman was with its extension service. They worked on finding a solution to the boll weevil infestation of cotton crops and concluded that the "dusting" of an insecticide powder from the air would be the most effective form of treatment. Born from this decision was Huff Daland Dusters Incorporated, a crop-dusting operation founded on May 30, 1924, in Macon, Georgia, becoming the world's first aerial crop dusting company. The company moved to Monroe, Louisiana, in 1925. Woolman left his position with the extension service and in the off-season traveled with the company to Peru, where he helped to establish crop-dusting and passenger services. With this experience Woolman returned to the United States and in 1928 raised the capital to buy Huff Daland, executing the purchase on September 13, 1928, and renaming the company Delta Air Service, with headquarters in Monroe. The name Delta, referring to the Mississippi Delta, was suggested by Catherine Fitzgerald, a secretary who later would rise to the rank of an executive in the company.[1]
Woolman purchased three Travel Air six-seat monoplanes and on June 17, 1929, inaugurated Delta's passenger service from Love Field in Dallas, Texas, to Jackson, Mississippi, via Shreveport and Monroe. Later in that year, service to Birmingham, Alabama, and Meridian, Mississippi, was added. The original directors of Delta Air Service were C.H. McHenry, Travis Oliver, and M.S. Biedenharn.
In 1930 the Delta Air Corporation (as it was then called) expanded eastward to include service to Atlanta, the fastest-growing city in the South, and westward to Fort Worth, Texas.[1] This service was terminated in 1930 after the "Spoils Conference" and the Post Office awarded the route to American Airlines. Delta's lack of success in winning a commercial airmail contract—the bread and butter of any aspiring air service—jeopardized its existence, and the company was forced to suspend passenger service.[1]
A reprieve came for Delta on the heels of the "airmail scandal," when the U.S. Congress enacted the Air Mail Act of 1934. Woolman secured a low-bid contract for the new Route 24 airmail service between Dallas and Charleston, South Carolina, via Atlanta.[1] In August of that same year Delta resumed passenger services, flying Stinson Trimotors,[1] with a route from Charleston, SC to Fort Worth, with stops in Columbia, SC, Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, and Meridian along the way.[2]
With the exception of the "Big Four" airlines (Eastern, TWA, United, American) that were favored with mail contracts and routes, the aviation industry in the 1930s was less a business than a high-stakes gamble. Safety remained a constant concern. An important step in regulation was the passage of the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, which created the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). The legislation was typical of U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt's second term, favoring business stabilization, growth, and safety within a competitive market. Delta was an early beneficiary and by 1943 obtained CAB approval to expand its route system to Cincinnati, Ohio, to the north, Savannah to the east, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to the south. In the meantime, Delta upgraded its fleet to include Douglas DC-2s and DC-3s, and in 1940 added flight attendants to the flight crews. These aircraft established standards of reliability, safety, and passenger comfort; they also signaled the company's policy of staying technologically competitive.
With its headquarters in Atlanta since 1941, Delta was becoming an established southern-based carrier in the national air system.[1] In 1941, Delta moved its headquarters from Monroe to Atlanta, to center itself along its new route network that now stretched to Chicago, Miami, and New Orleans. The logo for Monroe Regional Airport is based on the Delta logo, in honor of it being the airline's birthplace and the original headquarters for Delta. America's entry into World War II (1941–45) slowed Delta's growth. With fewer aircraft in operation, Delta converted its Atlanta facility and personnel into aviation maintenance and training cogs in the national war effort. In 1945 the company's official name became Delta Air Lines, and Woolman, Delta's first vice president, became president and general manager.[1]
In the decade after the peace of 1945, Delta stayed current with technology advances by purchasing new equipment and seeking new routes. In 1945 the CAB approved a Chicago–Miami, Florida, route via Atlanta—Delta's second foray outside the South. In 1948 the company began flying the all-new Douglas DC-6, a pressurized, four-engine passenger plane that cruised at 328 miles per hour.[1]
The company next purchased the impressive DC-7 and replaced its DC-3 aircraft with Convair 440s. Delta also benefited from "interchange service" agreements with TWA, National Airlines, and American Airlines, which allowed Delta aircraft to carry passengers to and from airports in Michigan, Florida, and California. Under Woolman's guidance, Delta gained a reputation as a well-managed, competitive line that carefully but ambitiously paced its expansion outside the region. It also gained employee loyalty by Woolman's "people-oriented" approach.[1]
In 1953 Delta purchased Chicago and Southern Air Lines, and flew under the name Delta C&S for the next two years.[3] This gave it access to a Great Lakes route system in the upper Midwest and, importantly, to points in the Caribbean Sea served by C&S.[1] In 1955 Delta obtained approval to operate an Atlanta to New York route. (Like Braniff, Delta was initially exiled to Newark, but both airlines made it across the Hudson River to Idlewild in a couple of years.) Scheduled service extended to Philadelphia; Baltimore, Maryland; and Charlotte, North Carolina. Delta celebrated New York as an especially sweet corporate victory, for it symbolized national commercial visibility for itself, its home base of Atlanta, and the region it served. It was also in 1955 that Delta introduced the "hub and spoke" system of connecting flights, now used by most major airlines.[1]
[4] has several Delta timetables from 1938-62, showing where they flew, how often, how long it took and how much it cost.
Delta's streak of fortune continued in 1961 with CAB approval to operate in its own right (as opposed to interchange service) from points in California and Florida. Two years later, Delta's continuing foray into international markets received CAB approval for an interchange agreement with Pan Am that allowed Delta aircraft to fly from Atlanta and New Orleans to points in Europe. Delta's second National Safety Award (the first council award was in 1945) added to the company's reputation.[1] When Woolman died in 1966, the company lost the leader who had dominated the airline from the start and stamped it with his personality. Successor chief executive officers over the next two decades were Charles H. Dolson (1965–70), W. T. Beebe (1970–71), and David Garrett (1971–87).[1]
Delta also moved into jets in the 1960s, following the purchase of the new Douglas DC-8 jet that entered service in 1959. Delta's new red, white, and blue triangle logo (the "widget") which began appearing on Delta's aircraft at that time was a representation of the jet's graceful swept wing. Its fleet grew with the addition in 1960 of swift Convair 880s (they set a coast-to-coast record of just over three hours) and in 1965, the DC-9. When Delta became an all-jet airline in 1970, its inventory of new equipment economically—and with engineering advantage—accommodated the airline's diversifying market, from short-haul to international flights.[1]
In 1970, Delta entered the "wide-body" jet era with the purchase of five Boeing 747s to service its new long-haul high density routes. The initial route was a Los Angeles-Dallas Love Field-Atlanta routing. Delta also had an interchange with Pan Am using Delta 747 to fly to London Heathrow Airport. However, with the economic slowdown of the early 1970s, Delta found the aircraft too large for its routes and it sold them a few years later. Shortly thereafter, Delta leased five DC-10s from United Airlines as a stopgap until its larger order of the new Lockheed L-1011 TriStars could be delivered.
Delta purchased Northeast Airlines in 1972 to strengthen its market share in the northeastern United States. Though a troubled airline, Northeast offered an attractive prize to a national carrier with its Boston base and routes to Canada, Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Miami, Florida.[1] Through the purchase, Delta began its long Boeing 727 operation.
In 1973, the Lockheed TriStar entered service as the flagship for Delta. The Lockheed L-1011 would remain so until the early 1990s. Delta placed these aircraft in international service from Atlanta to London in 1978; Frankfurt was added the following year. Delta's fast growth showed in August 1979 when it became the first airline in the world to board one million passengers in one city in one month (Atlanta).
Delta launched Delta Air Express in 1975, the first "high-priority, guaranteed cargo service".[4]
| Delta | Northeast | C&S | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 402 | 88 | 200 |
| 1955 | 1008 | 116 | (merged DL) |
| 1960 | 1870 | 565 | |
| 1965 | 4304 | 666 | |
| 1970 | 9713 | 1856 | |
| 1975 | 16460 | (merged) |
Delta launched its first frequent flyer program in 1981 which became the SkyMiles program in 1995. In 1983, Delta took delivery of its first Boeing 767-200, named the Spirit of Delta, which was paid for "by voluntary contributions from employees, retirees and Delta's community partners." The effort, called Project 767, was spearheaded by three Delta flight attendants to show the employees' appreciation to Delta for solid management and strong leadership during the first years following airline deregulation."[5] The airplane remained with the Delta fleet until 2006, and was repainted in a commemorative paint scheme and toured the country to celebrate the airline's 75th anniversary in 2004.[6]
In 1984, the company established the Delta Connection partnership linking local "feeder" airlines that served mid-size population areas to Delta nodes. The same year, Delta began its first flight to Hawaii (Honolulu International Airport) with L-1011 aircraft. Also in 1984, Delta began to offer the nation's first public air-to-ground telephone system with Airfone, on the L-1011. Delta was named 'Official Airline of Walt Disney World' in 1986, and its official ride in the Magic Kingdom was Delta Dreamflight, and was discontinued in the late 1990s when Delta's partnership with Walt Disney World ended.
Delta started its first transpacific service to Tokyo, Japan, from Portland, Oregon, on March 2, 1987. The following month, Delta merged with Western Airlines of Los Angeles and absorbed its large hubs at Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Western's Salt Lake City, Utah, base brought access to the West, Mexico, and Canada and made Delta the fourth largest U.S. carrier and fifth largest world carrier. It also added to the company's growing fleet of Boeing aircraft (the 737, 757, and 767). Delta's relationship with Douglas continued with the purchase of the McDonnell Douglas MD-88, a descendent of the DC-9, and the wide-body MD-11 for its new Pacific route. Also in 1987, Ronald W. Allen became CEO and chairman.[1]
In 1990, Delta became the first U.S. airline to operate the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 aircraft,[7] leasing two from Mitsui. Delta operated 15 MD-11s.
Delta expanded dramatically by purchasing most of Pan Am's European routes after Pan Am declared bankruptcy in 1991. Delta initially explored a joint divvying-up of Pan Am's assets with United Airlines where Delta would take over the New York-based European operations and United would take over the Miami-based Latin American operations, but the two carriers reached an impasse over which would assume the Pan Am Miami-London route. On September 1, Delta acquired Pan Am's East Coast and European routes (except for its intra-European routes from Frankfurt, acquired by Lufthansa) and assumed a controlling interest in the remainder of Pan Am, which continued to operate routes from Miami to London, Paris and Latin America. The total price for these assets was $1.3 billion.[8]
Although Delta initially promised further equity injections to keep Pan Am afloat, it refused to do so only a month later, which forced Pan Am to cease operations on December 4.[9] United purchased the remaining assets of Pan Am a few days later, including transatlantic routes from Miami, for a total of $135 million.[8]
The Pan Am creditors' committee sued Delta for more than $2.5 billion on December 9.[10] Shortly thereafter, a large group of former Pan Am employees also sued Delta. Delta was able to combine and move the cases from New York City to Atlanta. Delta was also able to prevent a jury trial, which, according to Business Week magazine, its attorneys had stated it would likely lose. The Atlanta judge then dismissed the lawsuits.
The Pan Am transaction gave Delta the largest transatlantic route network among US airlines. Due to these acquisitions, Delta became and remains today the largest U.S. transatlantic carrier, in terms of passengers carried and number of flights operated. The ex-Pan Am routes acquired by Delta included Detroit to London, despite Northwest Airlines' objections due to Delta's small presence in Detroit, and Northwest's correspondingly larger operations.[11] Northwest later attempted to buy US Air's (now US Airways) Baltimore-London route for $5 million and transfer the route to Detroit[12] but ended up buying the route from Delta in 1995[13] for a rumored $32 million.
Delta also acquired Pan Am's northeastern shuttle, inheriting a number of Boeing 727s, and forming what is today Delta Shuttle.
In 1995, responding to Qantas and American Airlines innovation of codeshare agreements, Delta established its own code sharing arrangements with Swissair, Sabena, and Austrian Airlines, which launched Atlantic Excellence, disbanded in 2000, for codesharing with Air France which led to the SkyTeam alliance.
In 1996, Delta carried the Olympic Torch from Athens, Greece where it was lit, to Los Angeles, California for its traditional circuit to the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia for the 1996 Summer Olympics, of which Delta was the official airline.
By 1997, during which Leo Mullin was named CEO, Delta began large expansions into Latin America and in 1999 introduced the Boeing 777 into its fleet, for longer non-stop flights. During Mullin's tenure, Delta saw large expansions into Latin America and the Caribbean. This was also known as Delta's "technological growth period". Airport kiosks were introduced, Delta Technology was developed into a leading technology division, gate information display screens (GIDS) were rolled out, and internal software was thoroughly revamped. However, Mullin's legacy was ruined by labor woes, huge losses in the post-9/11 period, a major executive compensation scandal, and a bankruptcy filing months after he abruptly retired.
Throughout the 1990s, Delta maintained a secondary hub at Portland for its Asia operations. In addition to regularly scheduled flights to Delta's primary hubs during this time (Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Salt Lake City), several of Delta's flights to Asia were routed from Portland and Los Angeles, using L-1011 and MD-11 aircraft. Destinations included Bangkok, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Manila, Nagoya, Seoul, Taipei, and Tokyo (resumed June 3, 2009 replacing Northwest Airlines route). Delta was one of the airlines targeted in the failed Operation Bojinka plot: the conspirators planned to bomb a Delta MD-11 flying from Seoul to Bangkok via Taipei on January 21, 1995. Today, all Asia operations from Portland and Los Angeles have ceased (except for Portland-Tokyo, Los Angeles-Tokyo).[14] Asian service is offered from Delta's Detroit hub to Beijing, China; Hong Kong; Seoul, South Korea; Nagoya, Japan; Manila, Philippines (via Nagoya); Shanghai, China; and Tokyo, Japan from Atlanta, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York-JFK, Portland, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. Service from Atlanta to Seoul, South Korea (route currently operated by SkyTeam member Korean Air); and Shanghai, China was suspended due to weak demand (Delta service from Atlanta to Shanghai, China resumed June 2011). Currently, Delta serves Shanghai from its Detroit and Tokyo-Narita hubs and Seoul from its Tokyo-Narita hub. Delta later resumed service to Hong Kong and Seoul in June 2010 from its Detroit hub.
In 1998, Delta and United Airlines introduced a marketing partnership that included a reciprocal redemption agreement between SkyMiles and Mileage Plus programs and shared lounges.[15] This scheme allowed members of either frequent flier program to earn miles on both carriers and utilize both carriers' lounges. Delta and United attempted to introduce an even cozier codeshare relationship, but this was deal was effectively killed by ALPA.[16] The marketing partnership ended in divorce in 2003 and paved the way for an expansion of the SkyTeam alliance.
In 1999, Delta was a founding partner of the online travel agency Orbitz originally began by a group of several major U.S. airlines, which was purchased by Cendant in 2004.
In 2004, Delta also started flights to Fairbanks International Airport in Fairbanks, Alaska from Salt Lake City International Airport during the summer (seasonal service was then eliminated by Delta). Northwest started flights to Fairbanks from Minneapolis in the summer along with Delta.
In 2000 Delta partnered with AeroMéxico, Air France, and Korean Air to form SkyTeam, a global alliance. Three years later, Delta began the largest domestic codeshare alliance with Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines. Today SkyTeam is the second largest airline alliance in the world (after Star Alliance).[17]
Delta's short-lived Los Angeles focus city was significantly reduced in 2008, ending the build up toward hub status as Delta went from a high of 48 destinations from the airport to just 17.[18]
Delta Air Lines started the first long distance international flights out of Salt Lake City with non-stops to Cancun (CUN), Paris (CDG) Mexico City (MEX),and Tokyo (NRT) airports. Delta operates the only non-stop flight in the Rocky Mountain Region to Asia and the only flight to Paris, France.
In an effort to simplify its fleet and capitalize on cross-platform compatibility not only in pilot training but also maintenance, the airline began to retire its trijets (three-engine planes) in favor of twinjets (two-engine planes). Delta's entire active fleet is now composed of twinjets, excluding Northwest's 747's. The airline is the world's largest operator of 767 aircraft:
As early as 2004, in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, Delta announced a restructuring of the company that included job cuts, and an aggressive expansion of Atlanta operations by some 100 new flights, making it a 'super-hub' and requiring the airline to spread its flight schedule more evenly across the day.[20] This was known to all Delta employees as "Operation Clockwork". Further, by mid-2004 the airline had announced it would be closing its fourth busiest hub (Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport), which it did on January 31, 2005. In a significant concessionary move, the pilots at Delta agreed to across-the-board 32.5% reductions in hourly pay rates in order to help the company stave off a bankruptcy filing. The agreement also included numerous changes in work rules, granting the company efficiencies in staffing and scheduling.
On January 5, 2005, Delta introduced SimpliFares, a radical transformation of its fare structure, which cut its most expensive fares by as much as 50 percent nationwide and capped one-way domestic fares at $499 in coach class and $599 first class. However, due to continued high fuel costs, the company was forced to raise these fare caps by $100 in July, 2005, to $599 in coach class and $699 in first class. Airline fares are constantly in a state of flux, in addition to the constant change in fares due to the selling of seats allocated for lower fares. However, some claim that the SimpliFare is simply a marketing technique to alert the public that there is a maximum ceiling price for Delta's fares. Delta also launched a system of "same-day confirmed" whereby for $25, a passenger is able to confirm a seat on a different flight instead of standing-by. in August 2007, the "same-day confirmed" fee increased to $50.
Also in 2005, in an attempt to increase profitability, Delta applied to serve a daily non-stop flight from Atlanta to Beijing, China starting in March, 2006, but rights were instead awarded to American Airlines operating from Chicago to Shanghai and Continental Airlines operating from Newark to Beijing.
On August 15, 2005, in an SEC filing, Delta announced that it had finalized a deal to sell Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines for $425 million in cash to SkyWest Airlines in an effort to obtain money to avoid bankruptcy. Analysts called the move a desperate one, estimating ASA's worth at around $700–$800 million — a price which SkyWest would not have been willing to pay.[21]
On September 7, 2005, Delta announced that it would cut 26% of its flights at its Cincinnati hub and redeploy aircraft to its hubs in Atlanta and Salt Lake City.[22] The move will ultimately eliminate up to 1,000 jobs in Cincinnati. In addition and in hopes of increasing profit yields, the airline announced further international expansion into Europe and Latin America.
On September 14, 2005, Delta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the first time in its 76-year history. The company cited high labor costs and record-breaking jet fuel prices as factors in its filing. At the time of the filing, Delta had $20.5 billion in debt, $10 billion of which accumulated since January 2001.
On September 22, 2005, Delta announced the acceleration of restructuring activities, targeting an additional $3 billion per year in cost reductions by 2007. $970 million of this amount was to come from debt relief, lease and facility savings, and previously commenced fleet modifications. Non-union workers' salaries were to be reduced by a minimum of 9% across the board, with a 15% reduction for executive officers and a 25% pay cut for CEO Gerald Grinstein. In December 2005, the Delta pilots agreed to an additional temporary 14% cut in pay, piggybacking onto the 32.5% taken at the beginning of 2005. This cut was made permanent with the ratification of an agreement in June 2006. Additionally, the company planned to lay off between 7,000 and 9,000 of its 52,000 employees.[23]
As for its route network, Delta planned to alter its structure by reinforcing hub presence in Atlanta, New York City, and Salt Lake City, while at the same time increasing point-to-point routes, reducing domestic capacity by up to 20% while growing more profitable international route (especially Asia, Caribbean and Europe) capacity up to 25%.
In 2006, Delta purchased rights to fly between New York City and London from United Airlines.[24]
On February 24, 2006, Delta, along with Continental Airlines and FedEx Express, saw future operations to Venezuela severely affected by President Hugo Chávez's decision to restrict flights coming into that South American country from the United States.[25] As of March 23, 2006, U.S. and Venezuelan aviation authorities were able to negotiate a solution to their dispute, likely ensuring that Delta's operations to Venezuela would not be curtailed in the future.
On March 7, 2006, Delta announced expanded service from its prominent hub at New York-JFK. In addition to the expansion of mainline service at the airport, Delta would partner with Mesa Air Group to provide regional flights throughout the northeast under the Delta Connection banner. At the same time the airline announced an expansion to a number of new cities from its Salt Lake City hub.
Based on all of these new initiatives, Delta projected a return to profitability by late 2007, based on a crude oil price model of $66 per barrel, in contrast to other bankrupt carriers' restructuring modeled on $55 per barrel. Delta would eventually reach this goal of full year profitability in 2007.[26]
Delta announced that coach travelers in the United States who have a flight longer than four hours will have on-demand programming on all those flights starting in 2007 at its main hubs in New York City, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta. This was to counter entertainment offerings of other airlines like JetBlue Airways, and take place of Song's service. Delta claims to offer the leading in-flight entertainment system in the United States. Live programming and music are free, and movies will be available on demand for a nominal fee in coach and for free in first class.[27] Delta also intends to install an improved in-flight entertainment system on internationally-configured aircraft, featuring a personal selection of movies. The system was installed in all classes on Boeing 767-400ER and 777-200ER aircraft, and in the BusinessElite section on Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.[28]
On November 9, 2006, the airline announced that it would recall 1,000 flight attendants that were previously laid off. In addition to the flight attendant recall, Delta announced in late December 2006 that it had exhausted its pilot recall list and was now accepting pilot applications for the first time in 5 years. They expected to take on close to 200 first officers through 2007.[29]
During the later part of 2006 and early 2007, US Airways Group, holding company for US Airways, proposed an acquisition of Delta Air Lines. The combined entity would have been operated under the Delta name. This attempt was withdrawn after failing to gain support from Delta's major creditors and opposition by Delta management.
On November 15, 2006, Bloomberg reported that US Airways Group, the parent of US Airways, proposed a takeover of Delta for $8 billion in cash and stock.[30] However, Delta's CEO reiterated that the best interests of Delta and its creditors were served by the company emerging from bankruptcy as an independent, stand alone carrier. In the ensuing days, Delta mounted an aggressive defense against the takeover attempt.
In addition to Delta management, Delta employees appeared to be extremely skeptical of US Airways management's claims that a merger would result in no job reductions and provide a more secure future for a combined entity. Employees had started wearing "Keep Delta My Delta" buttons and campaigning to raise public awareness of their opposition to the proposed takeover.[31]
On December 19, 2006, Delta announced (as expected) it rejected US Airways Group's proposed merger. Along with the announcement, it launched a media campaign against the merger to raise public support. The campaign, "Keep Delta My Delta", was picked up from the employee grassroots effort of the same name. The effort's website harbored an e-petition, quotes from prominent dissidents, and the effects the merger could have on selected localities. In its report, Delta cited many reasons for rejecting the bid, including it would lead to worse customer service, possible layoffs, an inefficient carrier, the carrier with the largest debt-load in the industry, and near-monopoly powers.[32]
On December 20, 2006, Delta and its financial advisor, the Blackstone Group, declared that Delta would be valued at between $9.4 billion and $12 billion after emerging from bankruptcy, which would (at the time of this writing) give it a market capitalization comparable to that of Southwest Airlines Co. or greater than that of American Airlines' AMR Corp. and Continental Airlines, Inc. combined. US Airways Group CEO Doug Parker stated that Delta's self-valuation lacked credibility and was unrealistic.[33] Delta CEO Gerald Grinstein retorted by stating that the Tempe-based airline was "the worst of all potential merger partners".[34]
On January 10, 2007, US Airways raised its bid by 20%, to $10.2 billion. The revised offer was set to expire by February 1 unless Delta's creditors opened the airline's books to US Airways and delayed a scheduled February 7 court hearing pertaining to Delta's reorganization plan.[35] Delta responded with a statement, claiming that "...the revised proposal does not address significant concerns that have been raised about the initial US Airways proposal and, in fact, would increase the debt burden of the combined company by yet another $1 billion."[36] That same day Delta Air Lines was speculated to be in talks with Northwest Airlines and United Airlines to fend off the US Airways bid.[37] CEO Gerald Grinstein, however, denied that any serious negotiations were ongoing with Northwest or any other airline.[38]
On January 28, 2007, US Airways holding company raised its bid by another $1 billion according to the Wall Street Journal,[39] but company spokesmen denied any change.[40] On January 31, 2007, Delta's creditors rejected US Airways' hostile takeover attempt, and US Airways withdrew its offer to buy Delta. On the same day, executives and employees of the company gathered to celebrate the re-lighting of the historic "FLY DELTA JETS" sign at the company's main hub, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.[41][42]
On April 25, 2007, the airline's bankruptcy plan was approved by the Bankruptcy Court. On April 30, 2007, Delta Air Lines emerged from bankruptcy protection as an independent carrier. Delta also unveiled a new logo, reminiscent of its logo from the 1970s and 1980s, and a new paint scheme. Delta's bankruptcy exit strategy was vastly different from that of United in that it expanded its way out of bankruptcy, rather than retrenching.
Delta's previous stock was canceled as of Monday, April 30, 2007, and new shares are trading on a "when issued" basis on the New York Stock Exchange. These shares began trading normally on Thursday, May 3, 2007. The starting price was around $20.00 a share, and went up to as high as $23.35. But investors showed little confidence in the stock as the price fell to $19.00 later in the week.[43]
Upon exiting bankruptcy, Delta also announced a 50% increase in operations at Los Angeles International Airport,[44] thus establishing Los Angeles as Delta's second West Coast hub and new potential Asian gateway with a total of 99 daily departures.
On May 10, 2007, Delta announced a partnership with US Helicopter, who provides service from John F. Kennedy International Airport to several helipads in downtown Manhattan.[45]
On July 12, 2007, Delta and its SkyTeam partners announced that they would forfeit slots in the European Union to relieve antitrust concerns.[46]
On August 21, 2007, Delta named Richard Anderson, former CEO of Northwest Airlines and executive at UnitedHealth Group, as a replacement for outgoing CEO Gerald Grinstein. Anderson assumed the post on September 1.[47]
On November 14, 2007, Pardus Capital Management LP, a hedge fund that owns 7 million shares of Delta and 5.6 million shares of United, called for the two carriers to merge. This action sent shares of both airlines up. However, the two airlines quickly denied official talks of any merger.[48][49] [50]
In an effort to expand Delta's Tokyo hub operations at Narita International Airport after the merger of Northwest, on September 11, 2009, Japans's NHK reported that Japan Airlines (JAL) is seriously considering allowing Delta to become a majority shareholder. JAL is a member of Oneworld, which is rival to Delta's SkyTeam alliance.[51][52] In addition, it was reported that JAL was in talks with Delta's partner Air France-KLM and JAL's Oneworld partner and Delta's rival American Airlines (AMR Corporation) for equity investments in the airline.[53]
On January 4, 2010, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that JAL and the Japanese government-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan will likely choose to form a business and capital tie-up with Delta, and that JAL would enter the SkyTeam alliance as part of the deal. The move, according to the report, would reduce JAL's international flight operations in favor of code-share agreements with Delta. The report also said that American Airlines had begun procedures to end negotiations with JAL.[54] A JAL spokesman denied the report, stating that negotiations with Delta and American were continuing.[55]
In 2011, Business Insider reported that ACSI ranked Delta Air Lines second in a list of “The 19 Most Hated Companies in America.”[[56]
Yomiuri reported on January 16 that Delta had reached an agreement with JAL on a tie-up consisting mostly of code-sharing flight services. JAL and Delta intend to sign the agreement after JAL's bankruptcy protection proceedings begin, and both airlines will apply for antitrust immunity with the United States Department of Transportation in February. Also, JAL announced that it will leave Oneworld and will join the SkyTeam alliance.[57][58] JAL will officially announce the tie-up with Delta and the switch from Oneworld to SkyTeam on February 1, the day Delta's and NWA's reservation systems merge, which is scheduled on January 31, though the antitrust immunity approval may not yet be received until as late as autumn 2010, and JAL's introduction into SkyTeam may not be until as early as the beginning of the 2011 Japanese fiscal year, which begins on April 1 of that year, as the plan by the Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corporation of Japan (ETIC) suggests. On February 8, 2010, Japan Airlines announced that will remain partners with American Airlines and will stay in Oneworld, the airline's talks with Delta ended.[59]
On April 14, 2008, following merger talks first reported on January 15, 2008,[60] both Delta and Northwest Airlines announced that they would merge to create the world's largest airline under the Delta name.[61] The merger formed the largest commercial airline in the world, with 786 aircraft.[62] The Atlanta-based combined airline will have $17.7 billion enterprise value. The company also stated on April 14, 2008 that it agreed with its pilot union to extend the existing collective bargaining agreement through the end of 2012. The agreement, subject to a vote by the pilots, provides Delta pilots a 3.5 percent equity stake in the created new airline.[63]
Northwest WorldPerks was merged into Delta SkyMiles on October 1, 2009. Operating certificates were merged on December 31, 2009. Reservations systems were merged on January 31, 2010; officially retiring the Northwest brand.[64][65]
The deal passed through anti-trust overview from the Department of Justice; as most analysis expected, the deal was not blocked, due to the minimal overlap between the two airlines' routes and very little threat to competition in the industry.[66] The merger was also expected to be the subject of several hearings on Capitol Hill. Representative Jim Oberstar of Minnesota, who also serves as chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, made clear his opposition to the merger, and he fought it in Washington. There was also strong support for the merger at the Capitol from legislators from Georgia, including Representative Lynn Westmoreland, Representative David Scott, and Senator Johnny Isakson.[67] On August 7, 2008, the merger won regulatory approval from the European Union.[68]
After a six-month investigation, government economists concluded the merger would likely drive down costs for consumers without curbing competition.[69] On October 29, 2008, the United States Department of Justice approved the merger between Delta Air Lines and Northwest.[70]
As of 31 December 2009, 216 of NWA's 303 aircraft have been painted in Delta livery.[65] Northwest's three US Hubs have been fully rebranded and gates have been consolidated along with other US airports. Some routes are being transferred to Delta from Northwest and to Northwest from Delta depending on the route. In airports where Northwest and Delta operate in separate terminals, one airline moves to another's terminal. For example, in Los Angeles International Airport, NWA, which had a smaller operation, moved into Delta's Terminals 5 and 6 from its previous home in Terminal 2 on June 30, 2009.
Northwest officially ceased operations on January 31, 2010, however certain planes still operate in NWA colors and some of them may not even be repainted as Delta colors. However, flight crews have yet to be integrated.
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