[14][15] The history of Delta Air Lines began with the world's first aerial crop dusting operation called Huff Daland Dusters, Inc.

Woolman, general manager and later Delta's first CEO, led a group of local investors to acquire the company's assets.

[18][19][20] Passenger operations began on June 17, 1929,[21] from Dallas, Texas, to Jackson, Mississippi, with stops at Shreveport and Monroe, Louisiana.

[30][31][32] 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.

[37] In July 2024, The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) opened an investigation into Delta Air Lines, after receiving hundreds of complaints over cancelled and delayed flights that started following the CrowdStrike outage caused technological chaos worldwide.

To support this business model, Delta has also invested in an extensive MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) organization called TechOps.

Delta One is the airline's premier business class product, available on long-haul international flights, as well as transcontinental service from New York–Kennedy to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

On the Airbus A330 cabins, Delta One features the Cirrus flat-bed sleeper suite by Zodiac Seats U.S., configured in a reverse herringbone pattern.

[71] All seats are also equipped with a personal, on-demand in-flight-entertainment (IFE) system, universal power-ports, a movable reading light, and a folding work table.

Passengers also receive meals, alcoholic beverages, an amenity kit, bedding, and pre-flight Delta Sky Club access.

The suites will feature a door to the aisle for enhanced privacy, as well as improved storage space, a larger IFE screen, and an updated design.

[77] In October 2018, Delta announced that it would be selling first class seats on domestically configured Boeing 757 aircraft flying transatlantic routes as Premium Select.

Beginning in mid-March 2005 the airline planned to stop providing pillows on flights within the 48 contiguous U.S. states, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, and Central America.

[68] Examples of fewer flexibility options include no ticket changes, no paid or complimentary upgrades regardless of frequent-flier status, and only having a seat assigned at check-in.

Exclusive Delta One Clubs for customers travelling in business class are slated to open at New York–Kennedy, Los Angeles, and Boston in 2024.

[95][96] In February 2024, Delta announced a new, more exclusive or premium level of Sky Club lounge aimed at high-spending travellers.

In addition to wellness areas, the lounge would offer a full-service brasserie and a marketplace influenced or assisted by a chef that would feature an open kitchen.

[101] Businesses can earn points toward free travel and upgrades, as well as Sky Club memberships and SkyMiles Silver Medallion status.

[128] Joanne Smith is Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer responsible for the oversight and support of personnel needs at Delta.

[132] Not counting the pilots and flight dispatchers, Delta is the only one of the five largest airlines in the United States, and one of only two in the top 9 (the other being JetBlue), whose non-pilot USA domestic staff is entirely non-union.

[130] In August 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta Air Lines announced that it would be cutting 1,941 pilot job positions if it could not conclude a cost reduction deal with its union.

Delta Air Lines sold majority ownership of DAL Global Services to Argenbright Holdings on December 21, 2018.

Delta Global Staffing provided contract workers for short and long term assignments, VMS partnering, VOP on-site management, temp-to-hire, direct placements, and payroll services.

[137][138][139] This location has served as Delta's headquarters since 1941, when the company relocated its corporate offices from Monroe, Louisiana, to Greater Atlanta.

[20] Before 1981, the Delta corporate campus, an 80-acre (32 ha) plot of land in proximity to the old Hartsfield Airport terminal, was outside the City of Atlanta limits in unincorporated Fulton County.

On August 3, 1981, the Atlanta City Council approved the annexation of 141 acres (57 ha) of land, an area containing the Delta headquarters.

[143] Delta maintains a large presence in the Twin Cities, with over 12,000 employees[144] in the region as well as significant corporate support functions housed in the Minneapolis area, including the company's information technology divisional offices.

[149] In May 2023, Delta Air Lines received a consumer class action lawsuit filed in Central California U.S. District Court over marketing claims that the company is the world's first carbon neutral airline.

[160] Over the course of the event over 500,000 passengers were inconvenienced, according to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, and over 3,000 complaints had been lodged with the government according to the Department of Transportation.

[162] On November 26, 2024, a passenger without a boarding pass bypassed all security protocols and managed to stow aboard a flight from New York JFK airport to Paris.