Delta Hits Key Milestones in $1.2 Billion JFK Construction Project

NEW YORK, July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is on schedule with the $1.2 billion expansion of Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport where the structural steel frame of the Concourse B extension is now visible.

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Ahead of the 2013 opening, customers can take a virtual tour of the expanded terminal through a new animated video available on the Delta Air Lines YouTube channel. In addition, more than 80 displays throughout JFK Terminals 2, 3 and 4 and on airport vehicles display the changes customers will experience in 2013.

"Delta's expanded and enhanced Terminal 4 at JFK will provide a modern international gateway for millions of travelers and accommodate future growth for Delta in New York," said Gail Grimmett, Delta's senior vice president for New York. "The project will create 10,000 jobs in the region and $1.6 billion in economic output from the purchase of goods and services by 2014."

The Concourse B extension will include one of the largest Sky Clubs in the Delta system, as well as nine new international gates, for a total of 16 the airline will occupy. The project will improve passenger flow by adding more capacity at check-in areas and security checkpoints. The state-of-the-art facilities also will feature a new automated baggage handling system and larger shopping and dining areas post-security. The project expands baggage claim and Customs and Border Protection areas to speed fliers through the airport. Delta jets will see faster taxi times with the addition of dual taxiways, improving on-time performance.

"This is a game-changing project for our customers and the entire regional aviation system," said Chris Ward, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "It increases JFK's capacity, vastly improves the customer experience for hundreds of thousands of Delta travelers and strengthens the economic competitiveness of the most important gateway in the country."

Delta is the largest airline in the state of New York serving 11 communities with 439 daily departures.  The carrier employs more than 7,000 people in the State of New York.

Today, Delta's domestic flights use Terminal 2 while international flights use Terminal 3. The expansion of Terminal 4 will replace the more than 50-year-old Terminal 3, improving the customer experience for 11 million passengers Delta carries to and from JFK annually.

The 1.5-million-square-foot Terminal 4 covers 165 acres, making it one of North America's largest air terminals.  Delta, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Terminal 4 operator JFKIAT LLC are working together to increase the terminal's size by 491,000 square feet, or nearly one third.

Delta has added more than 30 international routes from JFK since 2006, and the expanded terminal will allow for future growth. Today, Delta's JFK hub has more than 192 peak-day departures from 43 gates to 94 destinations, including 47 international cities. Delta also is the only airline to serve five continents nonstop from New York (North America, South America, Asia, Europe and Africa).

Delta already has invested more than $70 million in its JFK hub over the last few years.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year, and was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide    in its 2011 World's Most Admired Companies airline industry list. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 355 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-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 $2 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