INDIANAPOLIS, March 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The road to this year's collegiate basketball national championship will begin on Delta Air Lines for the hundreds of student athletes competing in this weekend's tournament in Indianapolis. Between today and Sunday, Delta will fly the athletic staffs from Louisiana State University, the University of Florida, the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) and George Mason University between their hometowns and Indianapolis as they pursue college basketball's ultimate prize -- the 2006 National Championship.
"Delta is thrilled to carry the hopes and dreams of every athlete competing in this year's collegiate basketball national championship to and from Indianapolis. This year, Delta has operated more flights for the tournament teams than at any other time in our history," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's executive vice president of Network and Revenue Management. "For the first time ever, we are proud to have a charter relationship with every university competing in the tournament and to carry all of these schools on the final legs of their journeys to a national championship."
For the basketball tournament this weekend, Delta and its affiliates will operate 10 charter flights between Indianapolis and Baton Rouge, La., Gainesville, Fla., Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to transport athletes, alumni, fans and support staff. These flights are in addition to the 108 charter flights already operated this month for teams competing in the men's and women's collegiate championships.
Delta has recently carried several national sports champions to and from their championship games. In 2005, Delta flew the University of Oklahoma and the University of Southern California (USC) football teams to their national championship at the Orange Bowl where USC secured the title. In basketball, Delta has carried recent champions from the University of North Carolina (2005) and the University of Connecticut (2004). Delta also is proud to have carried the New England Patriots to and from their National Football League championships in 2003 and 2004, and the Boston Red Sox from their Major League Baseball World Series win in 2004.
In addition, Delta also is proud to serve as the official airline of a number of major league sports organizations, including the Atlanta Braves, the Atlanta Falcons, the Boston Red Sox, the New England Patriots, the Cincinnati Reds, the Cincinnati Bengals, the New York Mets and the New York Jets.
Delta Air Lines (Other OTC:DALRQ) is one of the world's fastest growing international carriers with more than 50 new international routes added or announced in the last year. Delta offers daily flights to 503 destinations in 94 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and its worldwide partners. In summer 2006, Delta plans to offer customers more destinations and departures between the U.S., Europe, India and Israel than any global airline (see Note), including service on 11 new transatlantic routes from its Atlanta and New York-JFK hubs. Delta also is a major carrier to Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean, with more than 35 routes announced, added or applied to serve since Jan. 1, 2005. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on more than 14,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
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Note: Based on July 2006 OAG