Christening Of The 'Spirit Of Freedom' In Atlanta Opened Veterans' Day Weekend Celebration

Delta Air Lines on Friday unveiled a Boeing 757 as the "Spirit of Freedom" in honor of the men and women – including more than 10,000 Delta employees – who have served and continue to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. Hundreds of employees along with elected officials and representatives from military organizations and Atlanta-based charities gathered at Delta's Technical Operations Center to commemorate the christening of the "Spirit of Freedom," which now bears a commemorative logo.

"At Delta, we have an obligation to support our employee servicemen and servicewomen, our veterans and the millions of others on active duty who fly with us each year," said Delta CEO Richard Anderson. "In honor of their brave acts of service, selflessness and sacrifice, we are proud to dedicate this aircraft as the 'Spirit of Freedom.'"

The Delta Honor Guard, an employee-led initiative, opened the program. These employee volunteers administer honor guards at more than a dozen U.S. airports for fallen heroes returning home.

In July, Delta accepted the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award for exceptional support of Guard and Reserve employees. The airline joins one of only 15 employers across the country and is the first airline in a decade to receive the award.

Delta's commitment to military service members extends year-round and across the travel experience. These efforts include:

• Operation of more than 2,000 military charter flights in 2012.
• Employee volunteer-staffed military lounges in Atlanta and Memphis and at USO lounges across the U.S.
• Coordination of care packages for those serving abroad and the donation of millions of miles to military-support organizations like the Fisher House Foundation and USO.
• Recognition of servicemen and servicewomen in uniform by providing First Class and BusinessElite upgrades when seats are available, priority boarding and complimentary Delta Sky Club access nationwide.
• A pledge to hire more veterans by 2020 as part of its participation in the 100,000 Jobs Mission.

Delta continued to honor veterans with gate celebrations at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport (KDCA) Monday and Tuesday.

(Delta 757 pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.delta.com