On Friday, Delta smashed two records: the largest corporate profit sharing payout in U.S. history and a Guinness World Records title for the largest greeting card replica.
The giant greeting card was erected at Delta’s headquarters in Atlanta to honor its employees’ record-breaking performance and includes the names of all 80,000 employees. It is made out of one ton of canvas, and officially measures 50 feet, 5.87 inches tall by 33 feet, 2.12 inches wide. The previous record, held by Parkash Gujarat, was 45 feet, 11.96 inches tall by 26 feet, 1.28 inches wide.
“This year, our employees set record after record, so we decided to set another one,” said Mauricio Parise, Director – Delta Marketing. “We thought the best way to thank our employees was with a greeting card. But not just any greeting card… the largest greeting card on planet Earth.”
Not only is its size astounding, but how the record came to be is just as impressive. The card was packaged by Delta Cargo in Los Angeles and then sent on a flight to Atlanta for Friday’s official unveiling. Prior to its arrival, crews spent days assembling scaffolding to hold the card. For the final measurements on Thursday night, four cherry pickers hoisted the card open to 45 degrees, allowing a surveyor to collect exact measurements for the Guinness World Records adjudicator and verify the record. According to the rules, Delta’s card had to open, just like a real card. Final assembly was completed overnight, hours before the big reveal.
Incoming CEO Ed Bastian thanked the crowd of about 1,000 employees at Friday’s unveiling for their continued hard work and dedication to the airline. “This is a truly historic occasion,” he said. “Today we honor the willpower of our Delta people, and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate $1.5 billion.”
Delta employees earned a record $1.5 billion in profit sharing. Individual payouts equal more than 21 percent of employees’ eligible 2015 earnings.