Delta Air Lines made this announcement:

• Introducing new service to Athens, Tel-Aviv, Baltimore, Denver and San Diego in summer 2022.
• Welcoming new Airbus A321neos into Delta’s fleet with first flights out of Boston in spring 2022.
• Offering more Delta flights from Boston than ever before – a +20% capacity increase from pre-pandemic height.

Five new routes and more modernized, fuel-efficient aircraft are set to debut at Logan International Airport in 2022, as Boston’s No. 1 global airline continues building up a premier hub and international gateway.

By next summer in Boston, Delta will operate up to 160 daily nonstop flights to 55 destinations, a more than 20% increase in capacity since our pre-pandemic height in October 2019. Including Delta’s partners, customers can connect to more than 150 cities across the globe.

NEW GLOBAL DESTINATIONS TO EXPLORE

Beginning Memorial Day weekend, Delta will launch new nonstop service to Tel Aviv (TLV) on May 26 and Athens (ATH) on May 27.

Both ATH and TLV will operate three times a week on the Airbus A330-300 and A330-900, respectively. Customers will have choice of four experiences: lie-flat beds in Delta One (A330-300) or Delta One Suites (A330-900); Delta Premium Select, which includes more recline and an adjustable foot and leg rest; Delta Comfort+; and Main Cabin. Each features personal seat-back entertainment screens to enjoy in flight and the J.D. Power-awarded care and professionalism of Delta people.

With an overall score of 860 out of 1,000, the airline was recognized as No. 1 in customer satisfaction among airlines in North America by J.D. Power

New Athens and Tel Aviv service will complement Delta’s existing flights to Amsterdam and Rome, and returning pre-COVID service to Dublin, Edinburgh, Lisbon, London and Paris.

While Delta will also continue operating Boston-Cancun next summer, customers can book this year’s warm winter escape with additional seasonal service to Aruba (AUA), Montego Bay (MBJ), Nassau (NAS), Punta Cana (PUJ) and St. Thomas (STT).

NEW FLIGHTS TO BOSTON’S TOP 20 MARKETS

Starting July 11, Delta will serve each of Boston’s 20 most popular markets nonstop with the addition of Baltimore (BWI) and Denver (DEN) – as well as introduce new flights to San Diego (SAN).

Baltimore flights will operate five times a day on the Embraer 175**, which offer 12 First Class, 20 Comfort+ and 44 Main Cabin seats with full-sized overhead bins, no middle seats and free Delta Studio content available for streaming on your device.

Both Denver and San Diego service will operate daily on the 180-seat Boeing 737-900 and 160-seat Boeing 737-800, respectively. Each will be equipped with Viasat-powered high-speed Wi-Fi* to deliver a reliable and streaming quality connection for everyone on board in addition to a wealth of premium seat-back entertainment options.

Delta is also launching new daily service to Charlotte and Dallas/Fort Worth on Oct. 10, delivering greater connectivity to major markets.

UEL-EFFICIENCY AND AN ELEVATED ONBOARD EXPERIENCE

As part of our fleet renewal plans, Delta will welcome the first Airbus A321neos into our fleet in spring 2022, with the first customer flights scheduled to depart out of Boston. Not only does the A321neo further elevate the customer experience, but the aircraft supports our carbon neutrality commitment as our most fuel-efficient large gauge narrowbody – achieving 12% better fuel efficiency on a per-seat basis than its counterpart, the A321ceo.

The 194-seat aircraft features thoughtful touches like a new First Class seat design to offer more privacy and a sturdier tray table, spacious overhead bins and state-of-the-art HEPA cabin air filtration systems, as well as access to Wi-Fi and power ports. All customers will enjoy the wireless in-flight entertainment system created by wholly-owned subsidiary, Delta Flight Products, with personalized entertainment experiences at every seat.

The 194-seat aircraft features thoughtful touches like a new First Class seat design to offer more privacy and a sturdier tray table, spacious overhead bins and state-of-the-art HEPA cabin air filtration systems, as well as access to Wi-Fi and power ports. All customers will enjoy the wireless in-flight entertainment system created by wholly-owned subsidiary, Delta Flight Products, with personalized entertainment experiences at every seat.

*Delta plans to equip nearly all its domestic mainline fleet with enhanced connectivity by the end of 2022.

**Baltimore service will be operated by Delta Connection carrier Republic Airways.

Delta Air Lines according to the New York Times is urging other U.S. airlines to respond to the extraordinary surge in unruly behavior by passengers by creating a national “no fly” list of barred unruly passengers.

Read the full article:

From Delta Air Lines:

 

When Supplier Ops Program Manager Rusty Foster reflects on the massive cross-functional undertaking to store over 550 Delta planes grounded because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he thinks of the motto his Navy Reserve construction team lived by.

“The difficult, we do right away. The impossible takes a little longer.”

When Rusty was first called to action, it was March 2020 and the pandemic was in full force. Customer demand was dropping, and there was an uneasiness settling in as flights took off with fewer and fewer passengers.

Rusty had the day off and was getting ready to head back to Jacksonville, Florida, where he was performing heavy maintenance checks on aircraft. One of his leaders gave him a call and asked if he could go to Blytheville, Arkansas, to start parking part of Delta’s fleet.

The pandemic was already rearing its head: a long drive to Memphis International Airport, a canceled flight and another eight-hour car trip later, Rusty was finally in Blytheville.

PARKING THE FLEET 

“That day they started flying in MD-88s. It was like watching the skyline in Atlanta in the evening when you can see the pattern planes are flying in, just one after another,” Rusty said.

That first day they parked 14 planes. The next day, another 14.

Throughout 2020, Rusty worked in Blytheville; Kansas City; Marana, Arizona; and Birmingham, Alabama. At the peak of the pandemic, we parked 571 mainline aircraft across the country. Each location came with its own challenges— whether it was the humidity in Birmingham or the desert critters and extreme heat in Marana.

 

An undertaking that massive would require a seasoned touch. That’s where Bob Warde came in. He’d worked for 10 years storing MD-88s and MD-90s in Blytheville, some for parts, some for an eventual return to service.

His old boss called and asked: “Are you willing to go to Birmingham to help park the fleet?”

“And I was like — what?” said Bob, Lead Preflight Inspector CVG. “He said, ‘Yeah, we’re going to park up to 600 airplanes as fast as we can.’”

Right away, Bob took on leadership of the program in Birmingham. As planes sailed in nearly every hour, obstacles began to arise. First, they ran out of the chocks placed by the wheels to keep the aircraft in place. The team rushed out and bought 6-by-6 skids of wood to hand-make replacements.

“Some of the biggest obstacles were just finding facilities that could take the aircraft,” said Ted Lamoureux, Supplier Ops General Manager.

 

In San Bernardino, California, a designated parking area wasn’t viable after a 757 began sinking into the pavement. Closed runways in Kansas City and Victorville, California, were only temporary; eventually, the planes would have to move again.

Elsewhere, the challenge was understanding how much space was truly available. If someone said a facility could hold 100 aircraft, did they mean 100 regional jets?

“We were strategic about where we parked planes — basing it on what’s going to be a quick activation, what’s an easier airport for crews, what’s going to be parked long term?” Ted said.

The team was also thinking about the work it would take to carefully preserve the engines. They had to make sure there was enough room to move, cycle and rotate different parts of the aircraft as part of the storage program.

STORING THE FLEET 

“Parking a plane isn’t like parking a car. You can’t just take the keys and walk away,” said Tom Schuhardt, Supplier Ops Program Manager.

Tom was just one employee from across all areas of TechOps who joined the operation, regardless of what their current assignment may be. He was an instructor, but when our airline needed support in parking planes, many employees stepped into different roles.

“Our normal job was to teach and run classes — but we’re all technicians, we’re all experts on our fleet,” Tom said. “We know how systems work; we have such a laser-focus on our fleet, it’s something we know how to fix.”

As soon as each plane touched down, a countdown began on a meticulous maintenance schedule. Seven days; 14 days; 30; 60; 100; 180.

“When you’ve got 90 airplanes parked on the ground, the maintenance is astronomical when you add it all up,” Bob said. “So we had to plan. We tried to spread the workload out over time and get the planes into a rotation of review.”

This is where Delta’s engineers entered the equation, developing flexible “job cards” that ensured the aircraft got the maintenance they needed, specially tailored to the climate conditions where they were parked, while preserving supplies and manpower.

What made the storage program even more complicated was that the teams parking and storing the planes were doing so during a pandemic. Most of the TechOps teams commuted out to different storage facilities anywhere from a long weekend to a month — and restaurants were closed across the country.

Bob acted not only as only a lead mechanic, but as the chef of the group. He’d get permission from the hotel where the TechOps team was staying to use their kitchen that was closed due to COVID-19, and he’d plan meals for the team after work.

Bob would make the meals, but everyone worked together to clean up after.

The teams were also managing under constantly changing safety and cleanliness protocols. Doy Pope, AMT Instructor Developer, did a 22-day stint in Victorville during the pandemic and recalls adapting to the COVID-19 protocol.

“We were wearing masks out in the rain, doing it for each other at work, but also not wanting to bring anything back to our families,” Doy said.

REACTIVATING THE FLEET 

The TechOps team’s sacrifices and dedication during the parking operation helped Delta conserve cash as passengers stayed home and revenues declined. Then, as vaccination rates increased and customers began to reclaim the joy of travel, it was time to bring the planes back into service.

“I felt elation when I heard we were reactivating the fleet,” said Doy Pope, AMT Instructor Developer. “Delta wouldn’t be bringing these planes back unless we were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Just as it wasn’t easy to park and store the aircraft, reactivating the fleet brought its own challenges.

“As soon as we started parking planes, we started to think about when we would unpark them,” Chris Price, Program Manager of Supplier Ops said. “Whether it was going to be a month or six months, we were looking at what it’s going to take to reactivate them.”

Many of the stored planes shared their parts to help repair those still in service. One plane, for example, needed to get new parts before it could return to service, said Chris. Once it has those parts back, its systems will need to be activated and reviewed, in addition to undergoing a test flight before heading to an MRO facility for a maintenance overhaul.

Once the maintenance is complete, a pilot team arrives to take the plane from the storage facility that has been its home for up to a year and a half.

“When we first started parking planes, the storage facilities kept filling up with more and more aircraft,” said Capt. Wolfgang Schuster, Chief Line Check Pilot. “Now, we’re doing reactivation flights, and it’s rewarding to see the storage facilities begin to clear out. Every plane that returns to service is helping us achieve our mission of connecting the world — and we’re getting there.”

Ted was impressed by how quickly the team adapted to the changing circumstances of the pandemic. To date, there has been a total of 493 aircraft reactivated, 382 in 2020 and 111 in 2021. But the work continues— the team expects to be reactivating aircraft into 2022.

“Everyone pivoted so quickly and the collaboration between all the departments at any one site at one time was incredible to see,” Ted said. “You could be working on a team that was made up of line maintenance, training, base maintenance, the local facility maintenance — you have conglomerate teams that were put together and everyone worked together to get through the hard times.”

Delta has increased its employee vaccination rate to 82% in the three weeks since announcing a $200 monthly health insurance surcharge for unvaccinated workers, Chief Health Officer Dr. Henry Ting said in an interview with CNN.

Since the onset of the pandemic, Delta has strived to put its employees and customers first by making vaccinations readily available. That, in combination with financial incentives such as an additional day of paid time off and $100 in health rewards, allowed Delta to vaccinate nearly 70% of its employees by June 2021. Through an employee lottery that gave over $1 million to vaccinated employees, Delta quickly increased its employee vaccination rate to 74%.

During the interview Wednesday, CNN host John Berman asked a question that many may wonder: “Why not require it?”

“We know how to keep our employees and our customers safe,” Dr. Ting explained.

Dr. Ting noted layers of protection already in place on board aircraft, such as mandatory masking and hospital-grade air filtration. In addition, a real-world study recently conducted by Delta in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic and the Georgia Department of Health indicates that the risk of exposure to COVID-19 while traveling after all passengers test negative 72 hours in advance of your flight is less than 0.1%.

When coupled with existing layers of protection, the risk of transmission is less than 1 in 1 million between the United States and the United Kingdom, for example. As vaccination rates continue to increase, these numbers will only improve.

Delta has made tremendous progress already without a mandate and recognizes there is more work to be done. These additional steps are intended to drive the airline’s vaccine rates even higher and ensure the continued safety and wellbeing of its employees and customers, without asking existing employees – many of whom have been with the airline long before the COVID-19 pandemic – to choose whether to be vaccinated or keep their livelihood.

Delta has consistently followed the science to keep its customers and employees safe, all while keeping their values at the forefront of every decision. In a recent media briefing with the Infectious Diseases Society of America, Dr. Ting said Delta believes in the importance of vaccinations to save lives – and the airline continues to educate, advocate and communicate with unvaccinated employees to accelerate their timeline and get them vaccinated.

From Yahoo Finance:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/airlines-worst-coach-seats-best-204251677.html

From the Motley Fool: An in-depth review of the Delta Air Lines stock:

https://www.fool.com/investing/2021/09/14/delta-air-lines-continues-its-run-of-outperformanc/

TOC prepares for moment of silence

Delta Air Lines issued this statement:

Never forget. It was a vow Americans, and people around the world made on September 11, 2001. Two decades after a terrorist attack claimed the lives of thousands and forever changed the world, our country, our communities and our lives, we are taking a moment to remember.

“As we look back 20 years from Saturday, we’ll always remember the frightening and surreal day in our nation’s history,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote on Instagram. “It’s a memory that is seared into my brain. At the time, our industry had never seen this level of impact and I’ll never forget the eeriness and silence in the skies and at the airport around that time.”

We will never forget the shock and horror of those attacks that occurred on an otherwise normal, beautiful day. We will never forget the painful loss of life, and how those of us who survived and witnessed the attacks lost our sense of security. We’ll never forget the 2,996 souls lost that day. We will never forget the first responders who fearlessly and selflessly fought to save as many lives as they could – many at their own peril. We will never forget the crews and passengers of American flights 11 and 77 and United flights 93 and 175.

“Our world was forever changed on that day and it was our collective fortitude and empathy that brought us through that unthinkable time,” said Kristen Manion Taylor, S.V.P. – In-Flight Service. “The crews and passengers on those flights are all heroes.”

“While Delta did not have any aircraft or crews involved with the murderous acts of violence and terror that day, I remember how deeply we felt a connection to our industry peers,” said Eric Phillips, S.V.P. – Airport Customer Service and Cargo.

In the days, weeks and months that followed the terrorist attacks, our nation responded with unity and solidarity. American flags were displayed with proud defiance of those that tried to defeat us. We were reminded that what truly matters is a commitment to each other. We will never forget those we lost and those who protected us then, and now.

“What stands out most, and what I will never forget, is our courage, resilience and passion – our resolve to return to the skies,” said E.V.P. and Chief of Operations John Laughter. “As crew members, it took bravery and determination to return to the air in the weeks that followed. I remember how proud I was to see our flight crews stand together with the strength and confidence to move forward.”

“In the weeks that followed, I remember vividly the solidarity we showed as an industry and as a nation,” said Allison Ausband, E.V.P. and Chief Customer Experience Officer. “We did not give up or give in – we focused on taking care of our people and implementing the necessary safety measures to get flying again.”

In the 20 years since, we still experience the impact of 9/11 in our day-to-day lives, in our experiences and our conversations. We’ll never forget that we must always remain vigilant.

Significant investment and advancements in security technology and practices have made aviation safer than ever, from the airport experience to the skies. “Above all, people will always be our greatest security asset,” said Randy Harrison, V.P. – Corporate Security. “While our industry and our communities face emerging threats domestically and abroad, our collective, continued awareness — whether we’re airline employees or passengers – to protect each other is critical.”

But so much of what changed after that day has become commonplace. With every passing year, we must remind ourselves to never forget.

“My biggest fear is we will forget what happened to our country that day,” Delta V.P. – Airport Operations at New York-JFK Stephanie Baldwin wrote on social media. “We will forget the horror and pain inflicted upon thousands of people and their family members. We will forget all the first responders that ran TO and INTO the WTC to help-they never came home. We will forget how we all came together and prayed for the healing of our country.”

We never forget by sharing our memories. Over the past twenty years, memorials have been built a dedicated. The Freedom Tower soars on the hallowed ground where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once were. The opportunities to remember are plentiful.

“Parents, please make sure your children know what happened that day,” Baldwin wrote. “Come visit the 9/11 Museum or the Reflecting Pool at the [World Trade Center].”

We will never forget the solemnity of 9/11. But as we commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks, those painful memories are the ones that remind us to come together and remember our common humanity and shared values.

“We honor those who lost their lives, the brave first responders and service members who fought to protect our country after the attacks,” Bastian wrote. “I’ll never forget how the Delta people came together and took exceptional care of our customers, and each other, that day and in the days following. That same spirit has been on display throughout the pandemic – another unimaginable crisis for our nation and our world.”

“Even as I know we will #NeverForget and my heart remains heavy in memory, I am optimistic for our future thanks to the resilience we see in Delta people, our industry colleagues, and our fellow citizens.”

Delta Air Lines has committed to setting a new emissions target for its global airline operations in line with the climate science underpinning the Paris Agreement. This commitment complements Delta’s already industry-leading set of climate actions, including voluntarily capping its emissions at 2012 levels, committing to carbon-neutrality from March 2020 onward and aspiring to replace 10 percent of its conventional jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by the end of 2030.

“Big challenges require big solutions,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s CEO. “Climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing our world today, and we remain committed to driving change across the aviation ecosystem by setting ambitious targets tailored to our unique industry challenges.”

Specifically, Delta has signed a commitment letter to work with the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) to set a science-based emissions intensity improvement target using the organization’s recently released criteria and guidance for the aviation sector.

SBTi is a premier global partnership between leading non-governmental organizations aiding the business community to align their medium- and long-term climate goals with the science guiding the Paris Agreement. The company plans to work with SBTi to develop an approved emissions intensity target consistent with the sector-specific guidance limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.

A key component of setting and achieving this target is accelerating the work already underway with fleet renewals, operational efficiencies and scaling SAF, with SAF in particular requiring strong policy support and investment from the Administration.

In 2020, Delta’s fuel efficiency improved 5.7 percent per seat mile from 2019, saving 117 million gallons of fuel due to fleet retirements, reduced passenger loads and other factors. This year, Delta has ordered 55 incremental Airbus A321neo aircraft, which are expected to achieve 12 percent greater fuel efficiency on a per-seat basis than the A321ceo aircraft. The airline is leasing seven used Airbus A350-900s, which burn 21 percent less fuel per seat than the 777s they replace.

In addition, this year the company has purchased over 300,000 gallons of SAF, collaborating with its corporate partners to help grow the underdeveloped SAF market. Beginning in 2025, Delta expects to receive roughly 70 million gallons of SAF annually under offtake agreements with two providers. The company also recently announced a memorandum of understanding with Chevron and Google to evaluate the environmental benefits and integrity of SAF while increasing transparency.

“By partnering with thought leaders and experts at SBTi, we ensure the goals we set in the near-term are rooted in the science needed to help limit the rise in global temperatures over the long-term,” said Amelia DeLuca, Delta’s Managing Director of Sustainability. “We are also having constructive conversations with policymakers in Washington, as the industry cannot significantly reduce its emissions in the absence of strong federal climate leadership.”

Delta Air Lines made this announcement:

The risk of exposure to COVID-19 while traveling after all passengers test negative 72 hours in advance of your flight is less than 0.1 percent. That’s according to a unique study that examined real-world customer data on Delta’s COVID-tested flight corridors between New York-JFK, Atlanta and Italy’s Fiumicino International Airport.

The peer-reviewed study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings showed a single COVID-19 molecular test performed within 72 hours of departure could decrease the rate of people actively infected onboard a commercial aircraft to a level that is significantly below active community infection rates. For example, when the average community infection rate was at 1.1 percent – or about one in 100 people – infection rates on COVID-19-tested flights were 0.05 percent or 5 in 10,000 passengers. The Georgia Department of Health and Mayo Clinic conducted the study in conjunction with Delta.

“We are going to live with COVID-19 variants for some time. This real-world data – not simulation models – is what governments around the world can use as a blueprint for requiring vaccinations and testing instead of quarantines to re-open borders for international travel,” explained Dr. Henry Ting, Delta’s Chief Health Officer. “Air travel risk varies depending on case rates and vaccination rates at the origin and destination, masking and other factors. But the data collected from this study show that the routine use of a single molecular test within 72 hours before international travel for unvaccinated individuals significantly mitigates the risk of COVID-19 exposure and transmission during airline travel.”

Dr. Ting added that our real-world experience and testing protocol demonstrate that a very low risk of infection transmission is possible, confirming previous simulation models of viral transmission on planes.

The study began in December 2020 with the trans-Atlantic COVID-19 testing program that enabled quarantine-free entry into Italy and allowed teams to review and model various testing strategies for feasibility, false-positive rates and case detection rates. Now, the results of this study are available – offering unique data insights on the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure, infection rates on board and showing the feasibility of putting in place a testing protocol with meaningful impact.

“When you couple the extremely low infection rate on board a COVID-19-tested flight with the layers of protection on board including mandatory masking and hospital-grade air filtration, the risk of transmission is less than one in one million between the United States and the United Kingdom, for example,” Dr. Ting added. “These numbers will improve further as vaccination rates increase and new cases decrease worldwide.”

Key data points and takeaways from the study, conducted from December 2020 – May 2021, include:

DATA

• Among the 9,853 potential passengers who underwent testing in the U.S., 4 (0.04%) individuals tested positive by both the rapid antigen and confirmatory molecular tests.
• During the study period, the average community infection prevalence rate was estimated at 1.1%

TAKEAWAY: A single molecular test performed within 72 hours of departure can decrease the rate of active infection onboard a commercial aircraft to a level that is several orders of magnitude below active community infection rates.

DATA

• Individuals who tested positive by both the rapid antigen and confirmatory molecular tests were considered true positives and were not allowed to board. There were no false-positive rapid antigen tests.
• The estimated risk of a false-negative antigen test is 0.00009. 

TAKEAWAY: A low yield of additional rapid antigen testing at the airport suggests that further testing is unlikely to add safety alongside other mitigation efforts (i.e., masking), especially as vaccination rates are rapidly increasing. 

DATA

• Testing on arrival in Italy identified 1 (0.01%) additional infected individual.

TAKEAWAY: During a period of high COVID-19 infection burden within the U.S., a single molecular test performed within 72 hours of departure lead to a low percentage of airline passengers identified with the virus on rapid antigen testing during travel. This data may inform future recommendations for testing during travel and eliminate the need for quarantine after travel.

Delta continues to operate flights to international destinations. Customers are reminded to check entry requirements for their desired destination as each country’s government may have specific requirements.