Air Transport World announces Delta Air Lines is 2014 Airline of the Year

NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Penton's Air Transport World, announced today that Delta Air Lines is the recipient of its 2014 Airline of the Year Award. This is the first time the honor has gone to a U.S. carrier in a decade.

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Other winners of the 40^th Airline Industry Achievement Awards include Etihad Airways (Market Leadership), WestJet (Value Airline of the Year), SkyWest (Regional Airline of the Year), JetBlue Airways (Technology Leadership) and Singapore Changi Airport (Airport of the Year). The 2014 Decade of Excellence recipient is Alex de Gunten for his 10 years of leadership as executive director at ALTA, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association.

The ATW awards are among the most coveted and valued honors in the airline industry. They will be presented by ATW Editors at a gala dinner in Singapore on February 10^th.

"Winning the ATW 2014 Airline of the Year is a great way to kick off the New Year and build on the extraordinary achievements we accomplished together in 2013, said Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer. "I believe this award is a true testament to the hard work of Delta employees worldwide, who continually improve our operation and provide the best service possible for our customers."

In selecting Delta as Airline of the Year, ATW editors cited several categories, including innovation and leadership by executive management; strong financial discipline; a consistent and excellent safety record; proven leadership in community, environmental and technological endeavors; consistent high standards of customer service; and excellent labor relations.

"The global airline industry has never been as competitive, so when ATW editors make their Airline of the Year selections they focus on those airlines whose leadership truly stand out from the crowd through strong financial discipline, innovative thinking, superb operational and customer service standards, and excellent labor relations. That's a tough, across-the-board goal, but Delta clearly met all those standards and has demonstrable, measurable statistics to prove it. Delta and its employees thoroughly deserve this award and I congratulate them on their achievements," ATW Editor-in-Chief Karen Walker said.

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About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves nearly 165 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 322 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Karen Walker
Editor-in-Chief
Air Transport World
703.656/6300
[email protected]

SOURCE Penton