Corporate Travel Managers rank Delta No. 1 U.S. airline for 6th year

80,000 Delta people recognized with annual Business Travel News survey win

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Nov 21, 2016, 10:15 ET

ATLANTA, Nov. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) earned the top overall score for the 6th consecutive year on the Business Travel News (BTN) Airline survey, sweeping all ten categories and bettering 2015 scores in each. This win celebrates the outstanding performance and industry-leading customer service Delta people provide every day.

"Each year, we set 'Win BTN' as a company-wide goal and all 80,000 Delta people set out to deliver by providing an industry-leading customer experience around the globe," said Steve Sear, President – International & Executive Vice President – Global Sales. "This win marks six years in a row of Delta outperforming our competitors in the eyes of the business travel community and the fourth year that we've ranked highest in every category. This achievement, and being named No. 1 again this year by BTN readers, further validates our ongoing commitment to creating a seamless travel experience for our customers."

BTN voters, who manage tens of billions of dollars in annual, corporate travel spend, select the top U.S. carrier in the survey based on their perceptions of airline performance in negotiating and maintaining preferred programs, delivering service and providing value. This survey provides important validation of an airline's efforts to provide the best experience for corporate customers. No other airline has been selected six consecutive times in the survey's 19-year history.

"Our innovative approach to this business is what differentiates Delta from our competitors," explained Bob Somers, Senior Vice President – Global Sales. "And that innovation is in response to what our customers want to see. We seek feedback from Corporate Travel Managers (CTMs) and business travelers through focus groups, advisory board meetings and call centers, just to name a few. Then we listen, act and listen again, building our business around their needs."

Delta has delivered for the customer by achieving record-setting operational performance and cancelling the fewest flights. Investing in corporate customers this year, Delta's Global Sales team expanded their industry-first Operational Performance Commitment, introducing an Operational Excellence Calculator that quantifies the savings of choosing Delta. The team also launched Delta Edge Meetings to link business and meeting travel and made contracts easier with the roll-out of Legal-Easy.

Delta's culture of continuous innovation is core to the airline's ability to create a seamless travel experience for the business and leisure customer alike. Improvements across the business help take the stress out of travel, like implementing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology, developing a groundbreaking turbulence app for smoother flights and powering dynamic updates on the Fly Delta mobile app.

"Being selected as the top overall airline for the 6th year is an honor," said Kristen Shovlin – Vice President – Sales Operations and Development. "But we also see this win as a responsibility to keep delivering for our customers and continuing to exceed expectations. Thank you to our corporate travel manager and travel agency partners for your continued trust, confidence and loyalty in allowing us to serve you and your travelers."

Delta Air Lines serves nearly 180 million customers each year. In 2016, Delta was named to Fortune's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the fifth time in six years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented six consecutive years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 312 destinations in 54 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading transatlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a 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 and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta, and Facebook.com/delta.