Following the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Delta carried the Olympic Flag from Paris to Los Angeles on its custom LA28 livery for the official Olympic Flag Flight – signifying the Games’ return to the United States in 2028 for the first time since the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As the Official Airline of Team USA and an inaugural Founding Partner of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Delta is honored to be part of the flag’s transfer from one iconic city to the next, bringing a delegation from Team USA, LA28, and notable dignitaries on board as well. The exciting journey provides a taste of what’s to come from the LA28 Games. 

“Delta and LA28’s partnership is built around our shared values of connecting the world – and nothing brings the world together like the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Alicia Tillman, Delta’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Alongside LA28, we are committed to investing in LA28 and the future of Los Angeles as we set out to work together to bring the Games to life in the biggest and best way possible.”

Designed in-house by its creative agency, Window Seat, Delta’s LA28 livery, a custom A350 aircraft, features a blend of Delta blue, Delta red and Olympic gold to create a sunset-like color gradient that fades into a starry impression. The Los Angeles-inspired aircraft also displays three palm trees, emblematic of the years that LA hosted the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games: 1932, 1984 and now 2028. The honor of hosting three Olympic Games is held by only two other cities in the world – Paris and London. 

The aircraft also proudly touts the Delta x LA28 integrated emblem – the first in the Olympic and Paralympic Movement history – which uses the airline’s iconic widget to replace the “A” in the logo.

“Paris just put on an incredible Games, and from one iconic host city to the next: we are ready to bring this flag home for the 2028 Games,” said Reynold Hoover, CEO of LA28. “Today is a historic day since we started our bid 10 years ago – and we couldn’t be more thankful to our partners at Delta for helping organize this flight.”

As part of the airline’s ongoing work to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, Delta is covering the cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to reduce the emissions impact of the LA28 Flag Flight. While SAF won’t be physically on the flights from Paris to Los Angeles, for each of the estimated 45,000 gallons of jet fuel consumed on the flights carrying the Olympic and Paralympic flags, Delta is displacing a gallon of conventional jet fuel and replacing it with a gallon of SAF for our California-based flying. Until SAF is more widely available, this “book and claim” model continues to be the most optimal way to utilize existing SAF and infrastructure where it is available today. 

SAF is the most important lever the aviation industry has to decarbonize today, however, there isn’t enough being produced to fuel global demand for even a week. With around 90% of Delta’s carbon emissions coming from jet fuel, we're innovating across the business to find areas to reduce fuel consumption, while advocating for the incentives we need to scale the SAF market. 

Beyond doing our part to scale the SAF market, Delta is taking measures to make the in-flight travel experience more sustainable through actions like: switching to compostable bamboo cutlery and testing paper cups; swapping ground support equipment with electric models, and more.

After this special journey, the custom aircraft went back into regular service, where Delta customers will be able to fly on the aircraft.

Don’t miss out on the limited edition LA28 pins on Delta’s Team USA shop. 

The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games bring Delta's multi-year partnership to its peak, celebrating the brand's role as an inaugural founding partner. Over the course of the Team USA partnership, Delta also designed a custom livery for Beijing 2022, with plans for another livery for Milano Cortina 2026. Learn more about Delta’s partnership with Team USA.