Delta Customers to Benefit from New Employee Training, Technology, Seasonal Hiring

ATLANTA, June 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- This summer, Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) has deployed more than 1,300 Red Coats at airports worldwide, added hundreds of additional customer service agents on the ground and on the phones and rolled out new technology to make travel on Delta easier. Delta will serve 46 million customers across more than 500,000 flights around the world during this peak travel season.

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Delta's more than 1,300 Red Coat airport customer service agents and their supervisors recently completed a two-day workshop on creative ways to solve occasional travel disruptions for customers. During the training, employees also learned to harness new technology to assist customers when their flight schedule does not go according to plan. Delta's Red Coats now serve customers at nearly 100 airports worldwide.

Hundreds of additional seasonal hires at Delta's hub airports in the U.S. and permanent hires at U.S. Reservation Sales centers have been added to Delta's ranks to support a reliable operation and a positive travel experience for customers.

"Delta continues to take advantage of the momentum delivered by its people, and our customers are the beneficiaries," said Steve Gorman, chief operating officer. "No matter where our customers' travel plans take them, Delta people worldwide are focused on providing a great summer travel experience."

Behind the scenes:

• Delta's 80,000 employees worldwide are focused on a safe, clean and on-time travel experience. Continued focus on ensuring that flights depart exactly on time is driving other customer experience improvements, especially in baggage performance. In the most recent U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report, Delta achieved an all-time best DOT recorded baggage performance of only 1.74 mishandled bag reports per 1,000 customers, ranking higher than all U.S. network airlines and fourth among all 15 reporting carriers.
• Operations and service improvements also are driving increases in customer satisfaction. Delta ranked third in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 North American Airline Satisfaction Survey, an improvement of two spots from 2011, and was the only traditional airline to improve its overall satisfaction score. Delta improved in all seven categories and saw significant improvements in the flight crew and aircraft categories.

At airports and in Reservation Sales:

• For the second consecutive summer, airport "Need Help?" centers offer customers touch-screen devices for selecting flight changes, seat assignments and other options to reduce time spent waiting in line.
• Delta's Reservation Sales has expanded its Virtual Hold option, which allows customers to secure their place in a call-in queue and request an agent call back instead of waiting on hold.

On board:

• Economy Comfort, found on the first three to five rows of the Economy cabin, is now available on Delta's more than 550 mainline and more than 250 two-class regional jets. Economy Comfort features 3 to 4 additional inches of legroom. Economy Comfort debuted on long-haul International flights in 2011.
• Offering fresh, new EATS menus for summer, including Blue Moon beer with orange slices on North American flights, Stirrings Mojitos on flights to and from Latin America and the Caribbean in addition to new breakfast, lunch and dinner options featuring refreshed fruit and cheese plates and sandwich and salad options featuring Boar's Head meats and cheeses.

On Smartphone mobile devices:

• The Fly Delta mobile app carries robust functionality, including flight purchase, seat selection, and electronic boarding pass. Customers may track checked baggage and store a photo of their airport parking location. The app also allows customers to see new flight options and make seat selections in the event of a service disruption.
• @DeltaAssist and @DeltaAssist_ES provide real-time customer assistance via Twitter in English and Spanish 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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.

SOURCE Delta Air Lines