Editing Delta Air Lines (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Delta Air Lines}}

===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 the summer of 1925.<ref name="Founding">{{cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/founding|title=Founding|website=www.deltamuseum.org|access-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001235928/https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/founding|archive-date=October 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> It flew a Huff-Daland Duster, the first true crop duster, designed to combat the [[boll weevil]] infestation of cotton crops.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/aircraft-by-type/crop-duster/Huff-Daland-Duster|title=Huff Daland Duster, 1925-ca.1948|website=www.deltamuseum.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002171508/http://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/aircraft-by-type/crop-duster/Huff-Daland-Duster|archive-date=October 2, 2019|access-date=October 2, 2019}}</ref> [[Collett E. Woolman|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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Delta: The History of an Airline|last=Lewis and Newton|publisher=University of Georgia Press|year=1979|location=Athens, Ga.|pages=20–21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/leaders|title=C.E. Woolman|website=Delta Flight Museum|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414091209/http://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/leaders|archive-date=April 14, 2019}}</ref><ref name="journey">{{cite web |last=Gay |first=Charles |date=April 4, 2019 |title=Delta's history: From dusting crops to connecting the world |url=https://news.delta.com/deltas-history-dusting-crops-connecting-world |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717125757/https://news.delta.com/deltas-journey-timeline |archive-date=July 17, 2019 |access-date=October 18, 2023 |publisher=Delta News Hub}}</ref>

Passenger operations began on June 17, 1929,<ref name=NAAH>{{cite book|last1=Norwood |first1=Tom |last2=Wegg |first2=John |title=North American Airlines Handbook |publisher=Airways International |location=Sandpoint, Idaho |year=2002 |edition=3rd |isbn=0-9653993-8-9 |page=40}}</ref> from [[Dallas]], Texas, to [[Jackson, Mississippi]], with stops at [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]] and Monroe, Louisiana. By June 1930, service had extended east to [[Atlanta]] and west to [[Fort Worth, Texas]].<ref name="First Flights">{{cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/first-flights|title=First Flights|website=www.deltamuseum.org|access-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001235937/http://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/first-flights|archive-date=October 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deltamuseum.org/delta-history/founding|title=Founding-From Huff Daland Dusters to Delta Air Lines|website=deltamuseum.org|access-date= June 26, 2024}}</ref>

Delta Air Corporation secured an airmail contract in 1934, and began doing business as Delta Air Lines over Mail Route 24, stretching from Fort Worth, Texas, to Charleston, South Carolina.<ref name="First Flights"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Delta: The History of an Airline|last=Lewis and Newton|publisher=University of Georgia Press|year=1979|location=Athens, Ga.|pages=28–29, 43}}</ref><ref name="Founding"/> Delta moved its headquarters from Monroe, Louisiana, to its current location in Atlanta in 1941.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.deltamuseum.org/docs/site/brochure/headquarters_booklet_2019edits.pdf?sfvrsn=2db8be21_2|title=Historic Aerospace Site: Delta Air Lines Headquarters, Atlanta, Georgia|work=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001235958/http://www.deltamuseum.org/docs/site/brochure/headquarters_booklet_2019edits.pdf?sfvrsn=2db8be21_2|archive-date=October 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The company name officially became Delta Air Lines in 1945.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/timeline/decades/1940|title=1940s|website=www.deltamuseum.org|access-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191001235925/https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/timeline/decades/1940|archive-date=October 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/family-tree/chicago-southern-air-lines|title=Chicago & Southern Air Lines|website=www.deltamuseum.org|access-date=October 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428062154/http://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/family-tree/chicago-southern-air-lines|archive-date=April 28, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 to Portland, Oregon, to 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.<ref name="journey" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/timeline/decades/1920|title=Delta Timeline|last=Delta Flight Museum|website=www.deltamuseum.org|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414091215/http://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/timeline/decades/1920|archive-date=April 14, 2019|access-date=October 2, 2019}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{cite web | title=1990s-Delta History | url=https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/timeline/decades/1990 | publisher=[[Delta Flight Museum]] | access-date=May 13, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513215208/https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits/delta-history/timeline/decades/1990 |archive-date=May 13, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2003, the company launched [[Song (airline)|Song]], a [[low-cost carrier]].<ref name=journey/>

===Bankruptcy and restructuring (2005–2007)===
On September 14, 2005, the company filed for [[bankruptcy]], citing rising fuel costs.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2005/09/12/daily17.html | title=Delta files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy | first=Rachel Tobin | last=Ramos | work=[[American City Business Journals]] | date=September 14, 2005 | access-date=July 21, 2019 | archive-date=March 31, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331183701/https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2005/09/12/daily17.html | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/2005/09/14/news/fortune500/delta/ | title=Delta Air Lines files for bankruptcy | first=Chris | last=Isidore | work=[[CNN]] | date=September 15, 2005 | access-date=July 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721161533/https://money.cnn.com/2005/09/14/news/fortune500/delta/ | archive-date=July 21, 2019 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/delta-files-for-bankruptcy/ | title=Delta Files For Bankruptcy | first=Gina | last=Pace | work=[[CBS News]] | date=September 14, 2005 | access-date=July 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721161532/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/delta-files-for-bankruptcy/ | archive-date=July 21, 2019 | url-status=live}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-delta-bankruptcy/delta-exits-bankruptcy-after-19-month-restructuring-idUSWNAS850820070430 | title=Delta exits bankruptcy after 19-month restructuring | first=Chris | last=Reiter | work=[[Reuters]] | date=April 30, 2007 | access-date=July 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721161534/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-delta-bankruptcy/delta-exits-bankruptcy-after-19-month-restructuring-idUSWNAS850820070430 | archive-date=July 21, 2019 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/delta-air-lines-emerges-from-bankruptcy | title=Delta Air Lines exits bankruptcy | first1=Aude | last1=Lagorce | first2=Padraic | last2=Cassidy | work=[[Marketwatch]] | date=April 30, 2007 | access-date=July 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721161530/https://www.marketwatch.com/story/delta-air-lines-emerges-from-bankruptcy | archive-date=July 21, 2019 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://money.cnn.com/2007/04/30/news/companies/delta_bankruptcy/index.htm | title=Delta exits bankruptcy with planes full | first=Chris | last=Isidore | work=[[CNN]] | date=April 30, 2007 | access-date=July 27, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190721161530/https://money.cnn.com/2007/04/30/news/companies/delta_bankruptcy/index.htm | archive-date=July 21, 2019 | url-status=live}}</ref>

===Acquisition of Northwest Airlines (2008–2010)===
The acquisition of [[Northwest Airlines]] was announced on April 14, 2008. It was approved and consummated on October 29, 2008. Northwest continued to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta until December 31, 2009, when the Northwest Airlines operating certificate was merged into that of Delta.<ref>{{cite news | title=Delta, Northwest approved to fly under single operating certificate | url=https://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2009/12/delta-northwest-approved-to-fly-under-single-operating-certificate/13205/1 | first=Rebecca | last=Heslin | work=[[USA Today]] | date=December 31, 2009 | access-date=April 30, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413073916/http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2009/12/delta-northwest-approved-to-fly-under-single-operating-certificate/13205/1 | archive-date=April 13, 2014 | url-status=live}}</ref> Delta completed integration with Northwest on January 31, 2010, when their [[computer reservations system]] and websites were combined, and the Northwest Airlines brand was officially retired.<ref name="mouawad">{{cite news | title=Delta-Northwest Merger's Long and Complex Path | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/19air.html | author=Jad Mouawad | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=May 18, 2011 | url-access=subscription | access-date=February 7, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331010155/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/business/19air.html | archive-date=March 31, 2017 | url-status=live}}</ref>