Delta Shareholders Elect Board

Airline continues investment and innovation to build a stable business, superior customer experience

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Jun 15, 2012, 03:16 ET

NEW YORK, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL) shareholders today voted to elect all 12 director nominees to on the airline's Board of Directors, among other things, at the company's annual meeting.

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

Votes to elect the 12 returning directors to the board had a minimum of 98 percent approval in the voting tabulated in New York where the meeting was held. Shareholders also ratified the appointment of Ernst & Young as Delta's independent auditors for 2012.

CEO Richard Anderson addressed attendees, highlighting the airline's progress.

"Delta continues to have great momentum. You can see improvements in every part of the Delta flying experience," said Anderson.

"Delta employees are running an excellent operation, and that translates into better customer satisfaction and better employee morale," he said.

Anderson highlighted some of the company's accomplishments this year:

Delta was the only traditional carrier to advance its standing in this year's J.D. Power and Associates North America Airline Satisfaction Study, with a nine-point improvement over 2011. The study highlights investments Delta has made in technology including mobile boarding passes, recharging stations in gate areas and in-flight Wi-Fi.
Delta employees continue to focus on running a reliable operation. The latest Department of Transportation statistics, released Thursday, included Delta results at 90.9 percent of departures on-time, 99.8 percent of scheduled flights completed and 1.74 mishandled bags per 1,000 passengers for the month of April.
The airline's purchase of the Trainer Refinery will mitigate risk associated with the jet fuel crack spread and provide reduced risk for 80 percent of its domestic fuel consumption.
Delta unit revenue outperformed the industry for the last 14 months. Year-to-date corporate booked revenues are up 12 percent despite a 3 percent reduction in capacity.
Delta continues to reduce its fleet of inefficient 50-seat regional jets, replacing flying with mainline and dual-class regional jets, which lower unit costs and improve the onboard product. The recent announcement of Delta's new tentative agreement with its pilots could provide the opportunity to accelerate this fleet strategy with the addition of 88 Boeing 717 aircraft to the mainline, subject to pilot ratification of the agreement.
As part of the airline's more than $3 billion investment in its product, Delta has added Economy Comfort to its entire fleet of more than 550 mainline and more than 250 regional jets; completed installation of full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite on nearly 40 percent of its widebody aircraft; begun operation in the new Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International terminal in Atlanta; continues construction on a renovated and expanded Terminal 4 at New York's JFK which is expected to open in spring 2013; and is executing the largest single expansion by any carrier at LaGuardia in decades.
Delta's expanded partnership agreements with Aeromexico and GOL extend its reach in Latin America.

"We remain focused on our commitment to being a company our employees are proud to work for, the preferred airline for our customers and an attractive investment for our share owners," Anderson added.

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 and won the Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to nearly 350 destinations in 65 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.