Delta Rolls Out the Red Carpet for its Top 100 Employees

ATLANTA, Oct. 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) will welcome 100 employees Thursday into the Chairman's Club, its most prestigious corporate recognition program. Chairman's Club recognizes employees who embody the airline's values through their contributions and exceptional service to customers and their communities. Delta will honor the 2014 Chairman's Club members at its 18th annual gala at the newly renovated Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta. 

"This is shaping up to be another exceptional year for Delta thanks to the hard work and dedication of our people," said Delta Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson. "Our Chairman's Club honorees are not only the best at doing their jobs, they are the people you want to work alongside and learn from every day. We are grateful for the example they provide all of us on how to do and be the best that Delta has to offer to our customers and as coworkers."

Nearly 10,000 Delta employees were nominated for the Chairman's Club this year. The honorees were named following a rigorous review and selection process by business-unit committees made up of frontline and management employees.

This year's honorees represent 27 Delta stations in four countries and have nearly 21 years of service on average. Two of the most experienced honorees have been at Delta for 40 years. Many of the honorees are heavily involved in fundraising efforts in their communities through Delta's Force for Global Good program, which includes the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Habitat for Humanity home builds, Relay for Life, AIDS walks in various cities and other charitable causes.

The annual Chairman's Club gala allows Delta's senior leaders to individually recognize honorees for their service. The night will begin with a walk down the red carpet to the cheers of their colleagues outside the Flight Museum. Once inside, honorees will be treated to a cocktail reception with drinks and hors d'oeuvres crafted by members of Delta's culinary team, chefs Linton Hopkins and Michelle Bernstein, who will both be on hand. Additionally, master sommelier Andrea Robinson will provide a wine tasting experience, followed by a multi-course dinner, an award ceremony and an after dinner celebration with music and dessert.

"Each year, I look forward to celebrating our distinguished honorees at the annual Chairman's Club gala, and this year will be no different," said Delta President Ed Bastian. "I want to offer my sincere thanks and congratulations to our new members – they are truly the best in the business and we are fortunate to have them at Delta."

See the full list of the 2014 honorees:

About the Delta Flight Museum
The Delta Flight Museum, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is housed in Delta's two original maintenance hangars dating from the 1940s and located at the airline's world headquarters in Atlanta. The 68,000 square-foot facility contains displays and exhibits filled with hundreds of artifacts, which chronicle more than eight decades of Delta history and the growth and development of commercial aviation. The museum houses a permanent collection of seven historic aircraft, including a Travel Air 6B Sedan similar to the one that operated Delta's first passenger flight in 1929, and The Spirit of Delta, a Boeing 767 purchased for the company by employees in 1982. Also on display is a DC-3, Ship 41,that flew for Delta and was restored by Delta employees and volunteers.

The grand opening of the museum earlier this year marked Delta's 85th anniversary of passenger service, dating back to its first passenger flight from Dallas to Jackson, Miss., on June 17, 1929. After a significant renovation to the historic buildings funded by the Delta Air Lines Foundation and other sponsors, the museum is now open to the general public. The Museum was designated a Historic Aerospace Site in 2011.

About Delta
Delta Air Lines serves nearly 165 million customers each year. This year, Delta was named the 2014 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine and was named to FORTUNE magazine's 50 Most Admired Companies, in addition to being named the most admired airline for the third time in four years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 334 destinations in 64 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.

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SOURCE Delta Air Lines