Delta has been named the 2024 Airline of the Year by aviation publication Air Transport World. 

A celebration took place in Dubai the evening of Friday, May 31 with several Delta leaders and Joint Venture partners in attendance, along with representatives from across the global aviation community. 

Delta CEO Ed Bastian was joined onstage by six uniformed employees to accept the award, representing Delta’s team of 100,000 around the globe. 

“There are many things about our company that I'm very proud of,” Bastian said. “But it's not the great planes that we have, it's not the technologies we deploy, it’s not the airports that make us great – it’s our people. It’s the people of our company. They're the reason why we are number one.”  

Delta’s outstanding operational performance, commitment to safety and premium customer service were listed by ATW as key factors in this year’s selection. The company’s efforts to create a more sustainable travel experience and to give back in its communities were also recognized. 

Delta was also honored as an inaugural Hall of Fame award recipient, a new category introduced this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ATW Awards. 

Established in 1974 to recognize excellence across airline operations, the ATW Airline Industry Achievement Awards are given to global organizations that have distinguished themselves through outstanding performance and superior service. Awardees are selected by a panel of editors and analysts at ATW, Routes, Aviation Week and CAPA. 

Uniformed employees representing Delta’s global team at the award ceremony in Dubai included: 

• Becki N., Flight Operations 

• Symeria J., Cargo 

• Erika R., Airport Customer Service 

• Randy F., Reservations & Customer Care 

• Alex S., TechOps 

• Mona B., In-Flight Service 

The two ATW awards are the latest in a series of honors that Delta has received, including being named most on-time airline in North America by Cirium and No. 1 in First/Business Class and Premium Economy in customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2024 North America Airline Satisfaction Study. Delta was also recently ranked No. 11 on Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies List and secured the No.1 spot for the thirteenth year in a row by the Business Travel News Survey.