University of Georgia Coach Vince Dooley and Running Back Herschel Walker point to "Delta Salutes the Georgia Bulldogs" artwork on a Delta jet (Douglas DC-8,Ship 869) as the Bulldogs football team leaves for the 1981 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
In appreciation for Delta's support during a difficult economic time, employees raise $30 million in 1982, to purchase Boeing 767 The Spirit of Delta, the airline's first Boeing 767. Spirit is repainted back to original livery in 2006, before coming home to the Delta Flight Museum.
Delta and Delta Connection carriers SkyWest and ASA celebrate the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Boeing 777 Ship 7005 (N864DA) The Soaring Spirit II transports the Olympic Flame from its home in Greece to the U.S. Its paint design features images of Olympic Gold Medalist Bonnie Blair and Olympic athletes Duncan Kennedy and Ryan Heckman.
Celebrating 75 years of passenger service in 2004, Delta paints Boeing 767 The Spirit of Delta in a special paint scheme inspired by the 1940 livery of Douglas DC-3 Ship 41.
The challenge was to replicate in gray paint the look of the DC-3’s unpainted, polished aluminum. Tommy Vinci, Delta aircraft refinishing foreman, recalled the process in 2007:
“The ‘polished look’ was accomplished by using a four step painting process. First a primer coat was applied, then a gray top coat. After this was dry they applied the ‘sparkle coat’ which was made of silica particles. The trick there was to insure they achieved a consistent and even coat so that once we applied the last coat of paint, which was clear, it all reflected the same. I remember that all we heard from the mechanics and everyone else that came by to see it before it went in to service was how good it looked.”
Delta is the first SkyTeam member to showcase an airplane in the new SkyTeam Unified Livery in March 2009. Learn more about the paint scheme and see the SkyTeam-branded aircraft fleet list. See SkyTeam's Livery Fact Sheet.
Celebrating 70 years as Atlanta's hometown airline Delta christens Boeing 777-200LR, N702DN, "The Spirit of Atlanta" with a virtual bottle of Coca-Cola in 2011. Delta's close ties with the city date back to 1941, when the airline moves its headquarters to Atlanta. Read the news release.
Ship 1821 (N845MH), which first wore pink in 2010 to raise funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, is refreshed in 2015 with a unique paint design of pink ribbon wrapped around the fuselage. Earlier Pink Planes were a Delta 757 from 2006-2010 and a Song Airlines 757 in 2005. This aircraft flies international routes and raises awareness for the BCRF around the world.
Following a $1.6 billion profit sharing payout – a record for a U.S.-based company – Delta unveils a "thank you" plane featuring all 90,000 employee names. Airbus A321-200, Ship 3091 (N391DN) is "dedicated to the world's best employees and customers" on February 14, 2020. Delta people design, produce and install in-house the "thank you" message, consisting of 48 custom decal panels. See news release and photos on Delta News Hub.
Airbus A330-900, N411DX, Ship 3411, celebrates Delta's support of Team USA in a special livery unveiled on December 17, 2021. The custom-designed livery "embodies the spirit of resiliency and perseverance and an inspiration of upward momentum.".
Delta congratulates The Atlanta Braves’ 2021 World Series win on July 28, 2022, with a commemorative World Champions logo on Boeing 737-800, N3746H, Ship 3746. The plane, which was painted by employees at Delta TechOps, features a dual-sided World Champions emblem and signature Braves “A” toward the nose of the aircraft..