The second-to-last aircraft to be repainted debuts in Skyteam livery at Atlanta on April 11th. Photo: Andrew Thon - OPShots.net
Atlanta based Delta Air Lines has finally completed a multi-year effort to repaint its mainline fleet, a task made more complicated by the October, 2008 acquisition of Northwest Airlines. The carrier began repainting it’s fleet of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas aircraft into a fresh new livery after emerging from bankruptcy in 2007, and with the addition of Northwest’s fleet of Airbus, Boeing, and DC-9 aircraft, the process took longer than originally anticipated. The last two aircraft to be painted, a 737-800 (N3765, pictured) and N970DL, an MD-88 were both original members of Delta’s fleet, and debuted in their new colors on April 11th and April 14th, respectively.
The 737 made it’s first revenue flight on Monday, when it operated flight 1118 from Atlanta (KATL) to Rochester, New York (KROC), and the MD-88 operated as flight 880 today, April 14th, to Pittsburgh International (KPIT). Both aircraft will now join the fleet in regular operations. The 737 was painted into the colors of the SkyTeam Alliance, a consortium of thirteen airlines from around the world headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Delta is a part of this alliance which links the networks of the carriers into an interconnecting system, allowing for travel on multiple airlines under one ticket. SkyTeam is the second-largest such alliance, with Star Alliance taking the lead with 27 members.
Currently holding the title as the world’s largest airline, Delta will soon be surpassed by the new United/Continental merger once they begin operating under a single certificate.
In addition to its mainline fleet of larger aircraft, Delta is also served by a myriad of smaller airlines operating as Delta Connection carriers, and their respective fleets are still in the process of being re-branded into the new colors.
-Chuck Slusarczyk Jr. – OPShots.net
