Current Delta Air Lines logo from 2007
Delta Air Lines is a major American airline.[ 1] [ 2] The company's history began with the world's first aerial crop dusting operation called Huff Daland Dusters Inc. , founded in 1925 in Macon, Georgia [ 3] to combat the boll weevil infestation of cotton crops.[ 4] C.E. Woolman , general manager and later Delta's first CEO, led a group of investors to acquire the company's assets. Delta Air Service was incorporated on December 3, 1928, and named after the Mississippi Delta region.[ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8]
Passenger operations began in 1929, from Dallas, Texas , to Jackson, Mississippi , soon extending east to Atlanta and west to Fort Worth, Texas .[ 9] Passenger service ceased in October 1930 when the air mail contract for the route Delta had pioneered was awarded to another airline. Woolman and other investors incorporated the former crop-dusting assets of Delta Air Service as Delta Air Corporation in 1930. The company began doing business as Delta Air Lines , carrying mail from Fort Worth to Charleston, South Carolina .[ 9] [ 10] [ 3] The company's name was officially changed in 1945.[ 11]
Through the 1950s and 1960s, Delta was the first airline to fly the Douglas DC-8 , Convair 880 , and McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft. By 1970, it had an all-jet fleet. Trans-Atlantic service began in 1978 with the first nonstop flights from Atlanta to London . In 1990, Delta was the first airline in the United States to fly McDonnell Douglas MD-11 jets. It became the leading trans-Atlantic airline after acquiring the majority of Pan American World Airways ' trans-Atlantic routes.[ 8] [ 12]
The company filed for bankruptcy in 2005, citing rising fuel costs.[ 13] [ 14] [ 15] It emerged from bankruptcy in 2007 after fending off a hostile takeover from US Airways .[ 16] [ 17] [ 18] In 2008, Delta acquired Northwest Airlines , which continued to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta until December 31, 2009.[ 19] The two companies' computer reservations systems and websites were combined in 2010, and the Northwest Airlines brand was officially retired.[ 20]
^ Delta Flight Museum. "Founding" . www.deltamuseum.org . Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ "Delta's history: From dusting crops to connecting the world" . Delta News Hub . Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ a b "Founding" . www.deltamuseum.org . Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ "Huff Daland Duster, 1925-ca.1948" . www.deltamuseum.org . Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ Lewis and Newton (1979). Delta: The History of an Airline . Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press. pp. 20–21.
^ "C.E. Woolman" . Delta Flight Museum . Archived from the original on 14 April 2019.
^ "Founder's vision resonates today" . Delta Air Lines. 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018 .
^ a b Gay, Charles (23 April 2016). "Delta's journey: A timeline" . Delta Air Lines. Archived from the original on 17 July 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2019 .
^ a b "First Flights" . www.deltamuseum.org . Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ Lewis and Newton (1979). Delta: The History of an Airline . Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia Press. pp. 28–29, 43.
^ "1940s" . www.deltamuseum.org . Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ Delta Flight Museum. "Delta Timeline" . www.deltamuseum.org . Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019 .
^ Ramos, Rachel Tobin (14 September 2005). "Delta files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy" . American City Business Journals .
^ Isidore, Chris (15 September 2005). "Delta Air Lines files for bankruptcy" . CNN . Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ Pace, Gina (14 September 2005). "Delta Files For Bankruptcy" . CBS News . Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ Reiter, Chris (30 April 2007). "Delta exits bankruptcy after 19-month restructuring" . Reuters . Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ Lagorce, Aude; Cassidy, Padraic (30 April 2007). "Delta Air Lines exits bankruptcy" . Marketwatch . Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ Isidore, Chris (30 April 2007). "Delta exits bankruptcy with planes full" . CNN . Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019 .
^ Heslin, Rebecca (31 December 2009). "Delta, Northwest approved to fly under single operating certificate" . USA Today . Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2019 .
^ Jad Mouawad (18 May 2011). "Delta-Northwest Merger's Long and Complex Path" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017 .