Delta Launches Exclusive Partnership with St. Louis Cardinals

Delta to become official airline of storied St. Louis MLB franchise for 2011 season; will transport the team and staff for all road games

News provided by

Delta Air Lines

Feb 28, 2011, 10:00 ET

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and the St. Louis Cardinals today announced a partnership that, for the first time, makes Delta the team's official airline.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101123/CL04792LOGO )

"As an airline whose service in St. Louis dates to 1934, we're honored to be partnering with the St. Louis Cardinals, a team with one of the richest histories in baseball," said Hank Halter, Delta's senior vice president and chief financial officer. "This new partnership demonstrates Delta's ongoing commitment to St. Louis as we continue to invest in the market."

"We're proud of our new partnership with Delta, which has demonstrated its commitment to St. Louis with its growing presence here," said William DeWitt III, the President of the St. Louis Cardinals. "We look forward to a long and successful partnership with Delta."

As the Official Airline of the St. Louis Cardinals, Delta will be featured on signs and scoreboards at Busch Stadium during Cardinals' home games, and will highlight its partnership with the team and fans on "Delta Day," during the June 23 game against Philadelphia.

The one-year partnership also includes an agreement that names Delta as the Cardinals' exclusive charter airline. Delta is transporting the team and staff on Boeing 757 aircraft for all road games, with a dedicated cabin crew that flies every trip.

Delta is also bringing Cardinal fever to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, where employees will be sporting Cardinals caps and logos as they serve the airline's customers.

The Cardinals are scheduled to play their first Spring Training exhibition game today against the Florida Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.

Delta traces its history in St. Louis to 1934, when Chicago & Southern Air Lines began flights at Lambert Field. Delta merged with C&S in 1953, continuing to serve St. Louis without interruption.

Today, Delta offers 40 peak-day departures from Lambert in its summer schedule, with service to 11 cities, including all seven of its major hubs. Last year, Delta added new nonstop service from St. Louis to LaGuardia Airport in New York, Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. Delta also offers nonstop service to Seattle via its codeshare partnership with Alaska Airlines.

St. Louis customers can access convenient one-stop connecting service to Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean and all regions of the U.S. Customers also have access to Delta's SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world's largest airline loyalty program in the world, the award-winning BusinessElite service and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 357 destinations in 66 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-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline's service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world's largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $2 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.