From CBS LA:

“A passenger on a Delta flight from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles has been detained in Oklahoma City after assaulting an air marshal and a flight attendant.

The incident took place at about 5:40 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. According to the captain of the flight, the passenger, for unknown reasons, became combative with a flight attendant and then physically assaulted the flight attendant. The passenger, described as a man in his 30s, then attacked the air marshal after the federal officer attempted to intervene in the situation. The air marshal eventually placed the passenger in custody. The officer and the flight attendant did not sustain any serious injuries and did not require hospitalization.”

Read the full story:

https://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2021/12/09/passenger-detained-during-after-assaulting-an-air-marshal-and-flight-attendant/

Delta Air Lines has made this announcement:

The Thanksgiving holiday period is expected to return to levels not seen since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with Delta anticipating up to 5.6 million passengers from Nov. 19-30.

To support customers, Delta has increased staffing levels across the operation including in customer service and reservations, and new flight attendants have graduated to accommodate the growing number of flights being restored.

The anticipated volume represents a nearly threefold increase over the pandemic-battered 2020 season (2.2 million passengers). U.S. leisure travel has fully recovered to 2019 levels as vaccination rates climb.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving Day is expected to be the busiest day of the period, matching the single-day post-downturn record of 520,000 set this past Sunday.

In addition to a busy domestic schedule, Delta has seen a 450% increase in international point-of-sale bookings in the six weeks between the U.S. border reopening on Nov. 8 and the date it was announced. Many international flights are expected to operate with high passenger volume throughout the following weeks.

Delta Air Lines is sponsoring the nonprofit FourBlock for the 2021-2022 academic year, a partnership that will help military veterans transition to civilian careers with the airline and support Delta’s goal of reflecting the communities we serve.

Delta volunteers work with FourBlock’s Career Readiness Program, which serves more than 600 transitioning veterans annually. More than 2,500 veterans have graduated from the program so far and gone on to meaningful careers with various companies across the U.S.

“This organization does an outstanding job helping our heroes and their spouses transition after service,” said Kurt Robinson, Manager, Quality Control and President of Delta’s Veterans Business Resource Group, who also serves as a FourBlock coach. “The talent of the students is something every company is looking for.”

Nearly 11% of Delta’s 80,000 employees have served in the military. Our Veterans BRG provides professional development and networking opportunities to employees, families, and spouses who served and are currently serving in the armed forces.

Delta’s sponsorship of FourBlock coincides with a new tool launching in 2022 in partnership with military.com to help veterans understand how their military occupational specialty code translates to open jobs at Delta. It also builds on Delta’s ongoing efforts to build partnerships that will create a robust military talent pipeline.

“One of the biggest struggles for veterans is understanding how their skills can translate to civilian careers,” said Stephanie Asbury, S.V.P. – Global Talent Management. “Our partnership with FourBlock, and the work of our volunteer career coaches who work with FourBlock veterans, can help bridge that gap and help us connect with talented individuals making a difficult transition.”

Photo: Delta Air Lines.

Delta Air Lines is promoting its Fly Delta app for seamless travel with this announcement:

• An all-new digital day of travel experience, new self-service improvements and more await customers traveling this holiday season
• Delta reported record number of app downloads in September quarter, with monthly downloads now surpassing 1M – up 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels

Delta is giving customers more ways to seamlessly plan, book and manage their day of travel, putting the Fly Delta app at the center of the customer’s journey. An all-new Today mode experience, improvements to self-service features and new ways to quickly print bag tags are built to give customers more of the time-saving, day-of-travel enhancements they need.

Boarding information, upgrade status, baggage location and key self-service resources like same-day changes will now be available directly from the Today tab in the app, delivering even more features that make Fly Delta the customer’s ultimate travel companion.

“Customer needs and expectations have evolved during the pandemic, and we’ve listened and learned with new investments in features that give them more control and flexibility over their plans than ever – all within Fly Delta,” said Rhonda Crawford, S.V.P. – Global Distribution & Digital Strategy. “These updates bring us one step closer to ensuring the app is the ultimate hub for the customer’s day of travel.”

This refreshed digital day-of-travel experience is designed to put the app at the center of the customer journey, equipping them with more tools to manage variables outside their flight with flexibility and control. The dynamic experience makes it easier than ever for customers to access key information during their travel day.

A new visual indicator shows customer’s Delta FlyReady status on their boarding pass, indicating the customer has met health requirements for international travel.

Delta is simplifying COVID-19 vaccine and other related entry requirements during booking, check-in and beyond with new experiences on delta.com.

MORE WAYS TO MOVE SEAMLESSLY THROUGH THE AIRPORT

Later this month, Delta is adding express bag-tagging functionality in Fly Delta that makes it faster to print bag tags at the airport. After checking-in on the app, customers can save time by simply scanning a boarding pass and automatically printing tags at a Delta kiosk. The functionality will first be introduced in Detroit, Minneapolis and Atlanta. Support in Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Orlando are also coming in November, with additional locations coming later this year.

The app is regularly updated with the most important information customers need along their journey, even as travel conditions evolve. Customers can access personalized travel requirements based on their itinerary to ensure they always have the latest updates, particularly for international travel.

These updates come among other recent customer improvements anchored in the app, including the recently announced Delta-TSA PreCheck® express lobby and dedicated bag drop that will use facial recognition technology to allow customers with the Fly Delta app and a TSA PreCheck membership to travel seamlessly from curb to gate, without having to show a boarding pass or a driver’s license.

Delta Air Lines has made this announcement:

As the U.S. reopens to fully vaccinated international travelers, Delta Air Lines is reuniting families and friends who have been kept apart for the past 20 months. In the six weeks since the U.S reopening was announced, Delta has seen a 450% increase in international point-of-sale bookings versus the six weeks prior to the announcement. Many international flights are expected to operate 100% full on Monday, Nov. 8, with high passenger volume throughout the following weeks.

The reopening positively impacts customers in 33 countries around the world, with Delta serving 10 of these nonstop and more via its global hubs in connection with its partners, including Air France, KLM and Virgin Atlantic. The strong demand is reflected across both leisure and business travelers to popular destinations such as New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston and Orlando. In total, the airline will operate 139 flights from 55 international destinations in 38 countries landing in the U.S. on Nov. 8, offering more than 25,000 seats.

“This is the start of a new era for travel and for many people around the world who have not been able to see loved ones for almost two years,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO. “While we have seen many countries reopen their borders to American visitors over the summer, our international customers have not been able to fly with us or visit the U.S. All of that changes now. We’re grateful to the U.S. government for lifting travel restrictions and are looking forward to reuniting families, friends and colleagues over the coming days and weeks.”

Flight DL106 from Sao Paulo to Atlanta will be Delta’s first international flight to touch down in the U.S. under the new rules on Monday at 09:35 with dozens more closely behind.

As consumer confidence in travel returns, Delta is increasing flights this winter from key European cities including London-Boston, Detroit and New York-JFK, Amsterdam-Boston, Dublin-New York-JFK, Frankfurt-New York-JFK and Munich-Atlanta.

Atlanta, Delta’s hometown airport, remains its busiest international hub with 56 daily departures to 39 international destinations. It is followed by the most-visited U.S. city, New York-JFK, which has 28 daily departures to 21 international cities.

The milestone reopening provides a boost to global economies while simultaneously marking the start of the recovery of Delta’s international business. The airline reported this summer that its U.S. domestic leisure business has already rebounded to 2019 levels, but ongoing border restrictions have prevented a meaningful recovery across the globe. International inbound travel to the U.S. contributed $234 billion in export income to the U.S. economy, generated a trade surplus of $51 billion and directly supported 1.2 million American jobs in 2019*.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

Foreign nationals will be permitted to enter the U.S. with proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of departure. Non-vaccinated foreign nationals may enter the U.S. only if they meet criteria for very limited exceptions and commit to post-arrival testing, quarantine and vaccination. Customers must also provide details to meet U.S. contact tracing requirements. More information on entry requirements is available at Delta’s Travel Planning Center and through official U.S. government resources.

All customers 2 and older must wear a face covering throughout the journey, while Delta’s enhanced cleanliness measures also remain in place. These include regular cleaning and sanitizing of high-touch areas onboard aircraft and at airports, as well as electrostatic spraying of aircraft interiors with high-grade disinfectant to ensure no surface goes unnoticed.

MAKING INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL EASIER

To help customers navigate entry requirements, new enhancements are coming to delta.com and the Fly Delta app this month. These include:

• Easier entry requirement management with Delta FlyReady – the airline’s digital solution built to automatically verify government-required health documentation. Beginning November 8, customers on nearly all international routes bound for the U.S. can use Delta FlyReady to directly upload and verify their proof of vaccination status. Once requirements are met, an indicator on the customer’s boarding pass will verify they are ready to go.**
• A revamped Delta Discover Map experience, powered by Smartvel, that will allow customers to conveniently filter destinations based on health requirements, including vaccination status, for a more personalized customer view.