Delta entered the jet era in 1959, as the world’s first operator of the Douglas DC-8. Delta was also the first to fly the Convair 880 in 1960, and the Douglas DC-9 in 1965. When big "wide-body" jets arrived, Delta was the first airline with three different types in its fleet—the Boeing 747, the Douglas DC-10 and the Lockheed L-1011 in 1973