Delta Air Lines Employees to Build Habitat for Humanity Homes in Five Cities

More than 1,800 employees volunteer for construction projects from coast to coast

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Sep 10, 2012, 09:23 ET

ATLANTA, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) employees from across the country will roll up their sleeves to partner with Habitat for Humanity by building affordable houses in five of Delta's hub cities including Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York City and Salt Lake City. More than 1,800 Delta employees will participate in the build projects, which begin Sept. 10 and continue through Oct. 26.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090202/DELTALOGO )

"The commitment to serve the people and communities where we live and work is a core value expressed by Delta people every day," said Tad Hutcheson, Delta's vice president – Community and Public Affairs. "Our long-standing relationship with Habitat for Humanity has provided us the opportunity to build more than 100 homes around the world. We are so proud of our Delta volunteers and their desire to give back."

Since 2000, Delta's long-term partnership with Habitat for Humanity has been an important element in Delta's Force for Global Good, an effort driven by Delta employees with a shared mission to make a difference in the communities where we live and work. This year's domestic construction projects include four single family homes, one each in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Salt Lake City plus eight condominiums in New York City.

The home in the Los Angeles area will be 100 percent funded by proceeds from Delta's in-flight recycling program and is the fourth home Delta has funded by recycling customer aluminum cans, plastic bottles and other recyclable materials from passenger flights. Nearly 1 million pounds of passenger consumer products were recycled in 2011, and close to 6 million pounds have been recycled since the start of the program. Delta volunteers will rehabilitate an 86 year-old home in Long Beach, Calif., renovating its interior to meet today's building standards.

The project in Taylorsville, Utah, approximately 13 miles outside Salt Lake City will use geothermal construction and increase the home's affordability for the partner family with estimated utility costs near $25 per month. The home will be the first Habitat for Humanity home in Utah to be built with geothermal construction technology.

"Delta has been a tremendous partner, and we're grateful for this latest effort, which will result in 12 families moving into decent homes they can afford," said Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International. "It's inspiring to see the degree of employee and customer engagement in this latest project, and we are very excited about the emphasis on 'green' building, which will positively affect families and our environment."

As part of the long-term partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, Delta painted a Boeing 767-300 featuring Habitat's logo on the tail of the aircraft in December 2006. The special livery helps raise awareness of Habitat for Humanity's global work and highlights the efforts of employee participation in Delta's Force For Global Good. The aircraft has carried more than 533,000 customers and flown more than 3,000 trips around the world since that time.

About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God's love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit www.habitat.org, or follow us at www.facebook.com/habitat or at www.twitter.com/habitat_org or join Habitat's blog community at www.habitat.org/blog.

About Delta
Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. During the past year, Delta was named domestic "Airline of the Year" by the readers of Travel Weekly magazine, was named the "Top Tech-Friendly U.S. Airline" by PCWorld magazine for its innovation in technology, won the Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey and was the recipient of 12 Executive Travel Magazine Leading Edge Awards for U.S. airlines. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to more than 330 destinations in 61 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $3 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.