Delta Air Lines stock certificate
Dated 2006
Bankruptcy shares
A Scarce Certificate Variety
PLEASE NOTE: THIS CERTIFICATE HAS NO TRADING OR REDEMPTION VALUE. ACCORDING TO THE COMPANY'S WEBSITE:
"All physical stock certificates were issued prior to Delta’s emergence from bankruptcy proceedings on May 1, 2007. All certificates were cancelled as a part of those proceedings and therefore have no value."
Delta Air Lines is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.[1] The United States' oldest operating airline and the seventh oldest operating worldwide,[7] Delta along with its subsidiaries and regional affiliates, including Delta Connection, operates over 5,400 flights daily and serves 325 destinations in 52 countries on six continents.[8][9] Delta is a founding member of the SkyTeam airline alliance.[9] As of the end of 2022, it had 90,000 employees.[10]
Delta has nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its largest in terms of total passengers and number of departures.[9] It is ranked second among the world's largest airlines by number of passengers carried, passenger-miles flown, and fleet size. It is ranked first by revenue for commercially owned airline companies as well as in brand value, and 113th on the Fortune 500.
Early history
The history of Delta Air Lines began with the world's first aerial crop dusting operation called Huff Daland Dusters, Inc. The company was founded on March 2, 1925, in Macon, Georgia, before moving to Monroe, Louisiana, in summer 1925.[13] It flew a Huff-Daland Duster, the first true crop duster, designed to combat the boll weevil infestation of cotton crops.[14] C.E. Woolman, general manager and later Delta's first CEO, led a group of local investors to acquire the company's assets. Delta Air Service was incorporated on December 3, 1928, and was named after the Mississippi Delta region.[15][16][17]
Passenger operations began on June 17, 1929,[18] from Dallas, Texas, to Jackson, Mississippi, with stops at Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana. By June 1930, service had extended east to Atlanta and west to Fort Worth, Texas.[19] Passenger service ceased in October 1930 when the airmail contract for the route Delta had pioneered was awarded to another airline, which purchased the assets of Delta Air Service. Local banker Travis Oliver, acting as a trustee, C.E. Woolman, and other local investors purchased back the crop-dusting assets of Delta Air Service and incorporated as Delta Air Corporation on December 31, 1930.
Delta Air Corporation secured an air mail contract in 1934, and began doing business as Delta Air Lines over Mail Route 24, stretching from Fort Worth, Texas, to Charleston, South Carolina.[19][20][13] Delta moved its headquarters from Monroe, Louisiana, to its current location in Atlanta in 1941.[21] The company name officially became Delta Air Lines in 1945.[22] In 1946, the company commenced regularly scheduled freight transport. In 1949, the company launched the first discounted fares between Chicago and Miami. In 1953, the company launched its first international routes after the acquisition of Chicago and Southern Air Lines.[23] In 1959, it was the first airline to fly the Douglas DC-8. In 1960, it was the first airline to fly Convair 880 jets. In 1964, it launched the Deltamatic reservation systems using computers in the IBM 7070 series. In 1965, Delta was the first airline to fly the McDonnell Douglas DC-9.
Growth and acquisitions
By 1970, Delta had an all-jet fleet, and in 1972 it acquired Northeast Airlines. Trans-Atlantic service began in 1978 with the first nonstop flights from Atlanta to London. In 1981, Delta launched a frequent-flyer program. In 1987, it acquired Western Airlines, and that same year Delta began trans-Pacific service (Atlanta-Portland, Oregon-Tokyo). In 1990, Delta was the first airline in the United States to fly McDonnell Douglas MD-11 jets. In 1991, it acquired substantially all of Pan Am's trans-Atlantic routes and the Pan Am Shuttle, rebranded as the Delta Shuttle. Delta was now the leading airline across the Atlantic.[17][24]
In 1997, Delta was the first airline to board more than 100 million passengers in a calendar year. Also that year, Delta began an expansion of its international routes into Latin America.[25] In 2003, the company launched Song, a low-cost carrier.[17]
Bankruptcy and restructuring (2005–2007)
On September 14, 2005, the company filed for bankruptcy, citing rising fuel costs.[26][27][28] It emerged from bankruptcy in April 2007 after fending off a hostile takeover from US Airways and its shares were re-listed on the New York Stock Exchange.