Boeing 757 at Portland Intl. Oregon, USA
Delta Air Lines is one of the world's oldest airlines going back to 1928 when it was began as Delta Air Services using a Travelair on a scheduled flight one year later. By 1930 the airline had been sold and renamed Delta Air Corporation. By the end of the 1930s the airline was using Lockheed Electra twins and Douglas DC3 airliners. In 1945 the airline took the current name. In 1953 Delta bought Chicago and Southern Airlines and it was known as Delta C&S Air Lines for a short while. The jet age began with the introduction of Douglas DC8s in 1959 with Convair CV880 jets in 1960. By 1965 short haul Douglas DC9 jets were introduced.
Delta at PDX
In 1970 Boeing 747-100 widebody jets were introduced with DC-10s introduced from 1972. In 1972 the all-yellow liveried Northeast Airlines was taken over. By 1977 the Boeing 747s and DC-10s were replaced by the Lockheed Tristar. From 1978 Delta began services to London Gatwick with Frankfurt services starting a year later using Tristar 500 jets. By 1991 Delta had acquired PanAm's routes and aircraft. A new livery was introduced in 1997 - the first real livery change in 35 years.
