Delta Air Lines flight attendants — some who have worked the skies for decades — converged at the Delta museum Monday for an unusual airline anniversary.

Atlanta-based Delta said as of March 16, it has been 75 years since its first flight with a flight attendant. That flight in 1940 from Atlanta to Forth Worth took more than five hours and made stops in Meridian, Jackson, Monroe, Shreveport and Tyler along the way.

“We served fried chicken back then,” said Allison Ausband, Delta’s senior vice president of in-flight service. “Now today we’ve got Linton Hopkins organic chicken,” served in business class. “What has not changed over the course of 75 years is certainly the Delta-style service,” she said, calling flight attendants “resilient and resourceful.”

At a fashion show in the Delta museum hangar to celebrate the anniversary, Delta flight attendants modeled uniforms they and their predecessors wore through the decades.

Meanwhile, the International Association of Machinists union is in the middle of a campaign to unionize Delta flight attendants. The union in January filed for a representation election.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Travelers dine at Vino Volo in the new location in Terminal T at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Atlanta. Vino Volo is one of multiple shops opened last year by concessions giant Paradies Lagardère, a global corporation that offers retail and dining experiences to travelers. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Featured

An email circulating through Georgia Tech told students and faculty to delete DEI terms from the school's website, but administrators said the email contained "misinformation." (Miguel Martinez/AJC 2024)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez