Delta Celebrates Five Historic Years of Serving Africa

Carrier was first major U.S. airline to operate nonstop service between United States and Africa since the 1980s ATLANTA, Dec. 5, 2011 � Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) this weekend marks its fifth anniversary of nonstop service between the United States and Africa, a historic milestone for the airline that today is a leading international carrier with a world-class global network. Delta launched its first flight between Atlanta and Johannesburg, South Africa, via Dakar, Senegal, on Dec. 4, 2006. A week later, it began serving Accra, Ghana, from its hub at New York-JFK. It was the first major U.S. airline to operate nonstop service between the United States and Africa since Pan Am suspended flights in the 1980s. In the years since those first historic flights, Delta�s Africa service has continued to expand and today it is the leading U.S. carrier to Africa, with service to six African cities in five countries. �Five years ago, Delta saw an opportunity in Africa to offer our customers access to a region that had long been overlooked by U.S. carriers,� said Glen Hauenstein, Delta�s executive vice president � Network Planning, Revenue Management and Marketing. �Today Africa has become a key part of our international network, and we�re committed to continued long-term growth in the region.� On Dec. 1, Delta again expanded its African network to offer nonstop service between Accra, Ghana, and Abuja, Nigeria, in partnership with Air Nigeria1. The service operates twice weekly using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft, equipped with 36 BusinessElite seats, 29 seats in Economy Comfort and 143 seats in Economy. Some key milestones include: Delta has grown from 22 weekly departures between the United States and Africa in December 2006 to 44 weekly departures in winter 2011. Delta has transported more than 2.5 million passengers to and from Africa since December 2006. Delta is the only airline to operate nonstop service from Accra to two cities in the United States � Atlanta and New York JFK. Delta is the only airline to operate service to the United States from two cities in Nigeria � Lagos and Abuja. Delta is the only airline to operate direct service to the United States from Liberia, via Accra.