Timeline
Through the Decades
Explore Delta's history and achievements and discover how the airline went from dusting crops to serving over 320 destinations on six continents.
Choose a decade:
1930s - Delta begins mail service
1930 Service begins to Atlanta on June 12. Lack of mail contract forces suspension of all passenger service on October 1. Company renamed Delta Air Corporation.
1934 Delta receives Air Mail Route 24 (Ft. Worth, Texas to Charleston, South Carolina) from Post Office. Starts first mail service on July 4 with Stinson Model T planes; resumes passenger service on August 5. Begins operating as Delta Air Lines. Clarence E. Faulk becomes President.
1935 Offers first night service with the Stinson Model A; first Delta aircraft with two pilots and reclining seats.
1936 In-flight meal service begins with the 14-passenger Lockheed 10 Electra. Co-pilots serve box lunches and coffee.
1938 Airline operations begin earning more than crop-dusting services.