Delta Express was a no-frills "airline within an airline" brand owned and operated by

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

from 1996 to 2003. The airline was headquartered in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. Delta Express was based out of

Orlando International Airport Orlando International Airport is a major public airport located 6 miles (10 km) southeast of Downtown Orlando, Florida. In 2021, it handled 19,618,838 passengers, making it the busiest airport in the state and seventh busiest airport i ...

, and focused on leisure routes between

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and the

northeast United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic list of regions of the United States, region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast ...

, as well as certain parts of the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

. It primarily competed with low-cost brands such as

Continental Lite Continental Lite was a short-lived subsidiary brand of Continental Airlines established in 1993. The airline folded in 1995 after losing what has been reported in the press as between $140 million or (US) $300 million. History Continental Lite w ...

and

US Airways US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in History of aviation in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called ...

MetroJet MetroJet was a low-cost carrier, no-frills airline brand operated as a wholly owned division of US Airways from 1998 until 2001. History After the conclusion of painstaking labor negotiations in 1997, US Airways sought to head off burgeoning ...

, and

low-cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

s such as

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

and in the first years of its operation,

JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York ...

. The Delta Express aircraft fleet only consisted of the

Boeing 737-200 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

, in an all coach class configuration. No

in-flight entertainment In-flight entertainment (IFE) refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship ''LZ 129 Hindenburg, Hindenburg'' offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the ...

or meal service was offered. In 2003, Delta Express was replaced by

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

, a new low-fare brand that Delta introduced, which has since also been dismantled.

Livery

Delta Express aircraft bore the same primary liveries as parent company

, albeit with minor changes. Aircraft initially wore Delta's 1970s-era "Widget" livery, with "Delta" in dark blue and "Express" in light blue and in a revised typeface that would appear on Delta's new branding in 1997. When that livery was introduced, featuring a swooping cheatline and all-blue tail with red accents, the word "Express" was changed to red, but in the same typeface as before. When Delta rebranded again in 2000 to a livery featuring a waving fabric design on the tail, light blue billboard "express" titles were applied to the fuselage, with a small Delta logo above the windows near the boarding door and the airline's web address below. Delta Express promoted the

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

animated television series An animated series is a set of Animation, animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can ...

The Powerpuff Girls ''The Powerpuff Girls'' is an American superhero animated television series created by animator Craig McCracken and produced by Hanna-Barbera (later Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Televi ...

'' by having a

jet painted with a special livery featuring the characters Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup on the exterior. The plane's inaugural flight was held at

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 17, 2000. In 2002 the aircraft was repainted with a different ''Powerpuff Girls'' theme to promote ''

The Powerpuff Girls Movie ''The Powerpuff Girls Movie'' is a 2002 American animated superhero film based on the Cartoon Network animated television series ''The Powerpuff Girls''. It was co-written and directed by series' creator Craig McCracken (in his directorial debut) ...

''.

Destinations

Delta Express flew to as many as 31 domestic destinations in 18 states which included Albany, Providence, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Hartford, Allentown, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Austin, Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Boston, Detroit, New York (JFK, LGA & EWR) to cities like Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Fort Myers, and Fort Lauderdale.

References

External links

Delta Express
(Archive: 2001-2002)
Delta Express
(Archive: 1998-1999) {{Airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1996 Airlines disestablished in 2003 Companies based in Atlanta Defunct airlines of the United States Defunct companies based in Georgia (U.S. state) Delta Air Lines Former SkyTeam affiliate members

Livery

Destinations

See also

References

External links