History
1978:
John Beiser, George Pickett and Robert Priddy come up with a plan to offer high-frequency turboprop service to markets within 250 miles of Atlanta. They each put up $10,000 of their own money, quit their jobs and found Atlantic Southeast Airlines.
1979:
We acquire our first aircraft, a DeHavilland Twin Otter, open a maintenance base in Columbus, Ga., and make our first flight. A young Mark Minter, fresh out of high school, works the gate and hand writes tickets for the Columbus, Ga. to Atlanta trip. Mark is now our Director of Customer Relations.
1981:
The 17-seat Embraer Bandeirante, affectionately known as the Bandit, joins the fleet.
We spread our wings and cross the Georgia border to serve Montgomery, Al.
Our maintenance crew moves shop to Macon, Ga.
1982:
Our first Dash 7 aircraft, a 48-passenger, four-engine turboprop, joins the fleet and makes its inaugural flight with our first flight attendants. We’re now serving Macon, Athens, Brunswick, Waycross, Moultrie/Thomasville, Ga., as well as, Anniston and Montgomery, Ala., and Florence, S.C. – all cities within a 300-mile radius of Atlanta.
We make our initial public stock offering on July 21, 1982 with 800,000 common shares priced at $6.50 each.
1983:
In exchange for 340,000 shares of Atlantic Southeast common stock, we acquire the assets of Southeastern Airways. The deal lands us nine new routes and six airplanes.
Our 1982 annual revenue exceeds $13 million, we operate the third highest number of daily departures from Atlanta and we’ve grown to three aircraft types – the Twin Otter, Bandeirante and Dash 7.
1984:
Our Maintenance division cuts the ribbon on a new facility in Macon, Ga.
We become the first Delta Connection carrier, and our bookings increase by 40 percent on the first day of the new partnership.
1985:
We become the world’s first operator of the Embraer Brasilia 120, a fully pressurized, 30-passenger aircraft that allows us to increase our flight range to a 350-mile radius from our Atlanta hub.
1986:
The Brasilia proves to be the perfect match for our growing operation, prompting us to sign the largest aircraft purchase commitment to date in regional airline history – $109 million for 22 of the turboprops.
We open a new Dallas/Fort Worth hub, where we serve five markets in Texas and Arkansas with 54 daily flights.
1987:
Atlanta is now the world’s busiest airport, our passenger traffic has passed the one million mark and we retire the Twin Otter.
Air Transport World names Atlantic Southeast the Regional Airline of the Year.
1989:
Revenues zoom upward, inciting our board of directors to authorize our first stock dividend.
1993:
The ATR-72 joins the fleet and carries 66 passengers, has more room for payload and offers full standing room, wide aisles and two-by-two seating.
1994:
The Atlanta Journal gives Atlantic Southeast the honor of being named Georgia’s sixth-best-performing publicly held company.
1995:
Our first jet service begins with the introduction of the BAe 146 to the fleet. With increased seating capacity and a cruising speed of 450 miles per hour, it enables us to serve long- and short-range, high-demand markets.
1996:
We expand our Atlanta operation with new gates at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport’s C North Concourse.
1997:
We place an order for 30 50-passenger Canadair regional jets (CRJ) from Bombardier Aerospace – Bombardier’s largest single CRJ order from any one airline to that date.
Our first Bombardier CRJ200 jet joins the fleet and allows us to enter new, long-haul markets.
1998:
With the huge success of the CRJ200, we announce an order for an additional 27 of the jets. Our firm order now stands at 57 aircraft.
Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine names Atlantic Southeast one of the global aviation and aerospace industry’s best-managed companies.
1999:
A new era begins when Atlantic Southeast begins operation as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. The new relationship begins a period of phenomenal growth with Delta immediately investing more than $30 million in improvements for our company.
We celebrate our 20th anniversary with a special-edition Canadair regional jet painted in an Atlanta-themed livery.
2000:
Atlantic Southeast, along with fellow Delta Connection carrier Comair, become part of the largest aircraft purchase in regional airline history that includes 94 CRJs within four years and options for an additional 396 aircraft by 2010.
We initiate CRJ service from our Dallas-Fort Worth hub.
We make our first international flights with inaugural service to Toronto, Ontario, Canada from Atlanta.
2001:
We introduce a special-livery aircraft, “Bluebonnet,” to pay tribute to our Dallas/Fort Worth hub.
We carry the 2002 Winter Olympics Flame between Miami and Mobile, Ala. aboard ship 869, a special-livery CRJ200 saluting Delta’s sponsorship of the games.
2002:
We enter our 100th city – Cincinnati, Ohio.
The 70-seat CRJ700 joins our fleet and begins service from our Atlanta hub, making us the first Delta Connection carrier to fly the aircraft type.
We board our eight-millionth passenger for calendar-year 2002 – a 21 percent increase in passenger enplanements over the previous year.
2003:
We complete single-largest expansion in company history to date with 47 new flights in one day at Dallas/Fort Worth, including first-ever service to the West Coast with new CRJ700 flights to Ontario, Calif., and Salt Lake City.
The Embraer Brasilia is retired from our fleet after an 18-year, two-million-flight-hour history with our airline. As a result, our Dallas/Fort Worth hub becomes our first all-jet hub.
We receive our 100th CRJ from Bombardier Aerospace.
We surpass previous passenger enplanement records, boarding more than nine million passengers in 2003.
2004:
We exercise options for 32 additional 50-seat CRJ200 aircraft to be delivered during 2005.
We celebrate our 25th anniversary of passenger service with delivery of a special-edition CRJ700 from Bombardier Aerospace.
We exceed previous passenger boarding records, carrying more than 10 million passengers in 2004.
2005:
We complete our largest schedule change in company history, closing our Dallas/Fort Worth hub and opening new hubs in Salt Lake City and Cincinnati.
Our Macon Maintenance base receives OSHA Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Certification. Atlantic Southeast becomes the first regional airline certified at VPP “Star” status and the first U.S. carrier to receive initial certification at the “Star” level.
Delta Air Lines reaches an agreement to sell Atlantic Southeast to SkyWest, Inc., and signs an agreement for our airline to continue serving as a Delta Connection carrier.
We exceed all of our previous records by boarding more than 10 million passengers in 2004.
2006:
We launch Atlantic Southeast Airlines Magazine – a publication on board Atlantic Southeast aircraft.
We add more than 25 new destinations to our route map this year.
Our routes throughout the Caribbean expand when we are granted Extended Over Water exemption operations, which allows us to fly up to 162 miles away from the nearest shoreline.
We transition our crew domicile out of Salt Lake City.
A new Ground Equipment Maintenance (GEM) shop opens in Atlanta for the preventive and scheduled maintenance of our ground equipment.
Los Angeles, Calif. (LAX) opens as a crew domicile to prepare for expansion of Mexican destinations.
2007:
Delta Air Lines takes over 100 percent of our ground handling responsibilities in Atlanta including baggage, ramp operations and gate operations. 1,337 Atlantic Southeast employees transition to Delta as Delta employees to complete the shift in responsibility.
We introduce the new Delta Connection “Onward and Upward” livery.
2008:
We sign a 25-year lease for an Atlanta hangar and name it “A-Tech Center.”
Our Gainesville, Fla. station receives OSHA’s VPP certification at “Star” level.
The ATR-72 retires from the fleet after 15 years of service.Delta awards 10 CRJ900 aircraft to the Atlantic Southeast fleet.
2009:
Our first CRJ900 arrives on Jan. 30 and makes its first revenue flight on Feb. 13.
Captain Rachelle Jones, First Officer Stephanie Grant and flight attendants Diana Galloway and Robin Rogers land in our nation’s history books as the first all-female, African-American crew to operate a commercial revenue flight.
We announce a new contract with United Airlines for flying under the United Express program beginning in 2010.
2010:
Our Washington-Dulles International Airport crew domicile opens, and we make our first flights as a United Express carrier on Feb. 8
Atlantic Southeast Airlines launches a new brand identity and vision to connect more people, more often to the places they love, by becoming the world’s first super regional airline.
