Delta expands Porsche customer experience to Los Angeles, New York-JFK and Minneapolis/St. Paul

Gate-to-gate service for high-value customers based on successful Atlanta program is added to key markets

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Nov 20, 2013, 10:23 ET

ATLANTA, Nov. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) has expanded its successful customer Porsche vehicle pick-up service to Los Angeles International Airport, New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. The program, which transports select high-value customers from gate-to-gate, began as a trial at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, in 2011, and has expanded in the market to support an average of more than 75 customer transfers per day at Delta's largest hub.

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

In Los Angeles, New York-JFK and Minneapolis/St.Paul, select SkyMiles Diamond Medallion customers connecting on flights will transfer between gates in the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid vehicles.

"Delta is continuing to create new ways to recognize and enhance the travel experience for our most valuable customers," said Mike Henny, director – Customer Experience. "By partnering with Porsche to offer unsuspecting pick-ups in an even more unexpected vehicle, we've found a unique opportunity to surprise and delight customers while assisting customers between connecting flights."

Diamond Medallion customers selected for the service are greeted at the aircraft boarding door by a Delta Elite Services representative who escorts them with their baggage to an awaiting vehicle and on to their connecting gate. Each customer is selected for transfer based on a number of factors including flight operation, connection timing and member status.

Images of Delta's aircraft and Porsche cars used for the pick-up service are available at news.delta.com:

Delta has made investments in airport facilities on the ground in each of the cities participating in the new transfer service including the new Terminal 4 at New York-JFK International Airport, updated dining and gate experiences at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport concourse G and the ongoing renovation of Terminal 5 at Los Angeles International Airport.

Today's announcement builds on Delta's industry leadership in exceeding customer expectations by being the first U.S. airline to allow customer use of portable electronic devices below 10,000 feet, introducing in-flight Wi-Fi five years ago, the Sky Deck at Delta Sky Clubs in New York-JFK and Atlanta this year, being the only U.S. domestic carrier to offer personal, on demand entertainment at every seat on all long-haul international flights by the end of 2013 and offering flat-bed seating with direct aisle access across its international widebody fleet by mid-2014.

Since 2010, Delta has invested billions of dollars in the customer experience including installation of full flat-bed seats on Delta's widebody international aircraft, a new Terminal 4 at New York-JFK, Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal in Atlanta. Delta has also spent more than $100 million to expand, renovate and consolidate terminals C and D at New York-LaGuardia Airport. Additionally, customers have seen Delta's investment in its more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs throughout the system, power poles at dozens of airports, mobile apps which include features such as baggage tracking, and Wi-Fi on more than 800 aircraft.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. Delta was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World's Most Admired Companies airline industry list, topping the list for the second time in three years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 314 destinations in 58 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. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta is investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.