Delta Air Lines

Delta’s relationship with the 747 came in two parts, separated by three decades, and the first part was a false start.

Too big, too soon

Delta took five 747-100s from September 1970, entering service in October on Atlanta–Dallas–Los Angeles. The aircraft — Georgia Belle and sisters — also flew to Chicago, Detroit, Miami and on a Pan Am interchange to London. But Delta’s route system at the time was not dense enough to fill a jumbo, and the airline traded them back to Boeing from 1974. The last left in April 1977, after which Delta’s only widebody was the L-1011 for years.

Two of those airframes had notable afterlives: one became the Evergreen Supertanker, and another was mounted on the roof of the Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon.

Northwest brings the 747 back

Delta’s return to the type came through its 2008 merger with Northwest Airlines, which brought sixteen 747-400s (and, historically, Northwest’s 747-200s and freighters). Delta refurbished the -400s and flew them with Delta One, Comfort+ and Main Cabin, putting the business cabin in the prominent place the type allowed.

The last American 747

Delta retired its 747-400s in December 2017, the last US airline to do so, with final charter flying into early 2018. The airline’s Flight Museum preserves Ship 6301, the first 747-400 ever built — a fitting bookend for an airline that was an early customer, a reluctant operator, and, at the end, the type’s last American home.

Related

• Airlines that flew the 747
• Northwest Airlines 747 fleet history
• The 747-400 · Air Canada 747 fleet history