ATLANTA, March 27, 2008 – Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today provided the following update on the ongoing proactive and voluntary revalidation of a prior Airworthiness Directive on its fleet of 117 MD-88 aircraft:
“Safety is Delta's No. 1 priority and we take Airworthiness Directives very seriously. Delta is working in full partnership with the FAA and is proactively and voluntarily revalidating the full compliance of a prior Airworthiness Directive completed earlier this year. We expect this voluntary review, which is taking place on Delta's 117 MD-88 aircraft, to result in approximately 275 cancellations through early Friday, impacting about 3 percent of Delta’s worldwide flight schedule. Based on the aggressive and proactive re-inspection schedule, Delta expects inspections to be complete on approximately 70 percent of its MD-88 fleet by early evening, with normal operations planned by early Friday.
Delta apologizes in advance for any inconvenience this may cause and is working to proactively contact and reaccomodate affected customers. Customers should check the status of their flights on delta.com as the schedules for approximately 275 MD-88 flights have or will be affected as schedules return to normal. Delta is adding staffing at its largest hubs, especially Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, to accommodate higher-than-normal customer volume expected today.”
Delta Air Lines operates service to more worldwide destinations than any airline with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 315 destinations in 59 countries. Delta has added more international capacity than any major U.S. airline during the last two years and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 36 trans-Atlantic markets. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers more than 650 weekly flights to 65 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 14,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 744 worldwide destinations in 151 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
