ATLANTA, June 18, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today celebrates Major League Baseball Hall of Fame and Home Run King Hank Aaron by unveiling a newly branded Boeing 757 aircraft in his honor. The event honors Aaron's accomplishments and contributions to the game with a signature aircraft that is branded with artwork of Aaron's historic 715th home run to surpass Babe Ruth as baseball's all-time home run king. Dubbed the "Hank Aaron 755" to commemorate his 755 career-capping home runs, the aircraft will be unveiled by Hank Aaron and Delta Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian at a ceremony near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
"Baseball's all-time, home-run record is arguably the greatest record in sports and Delta is thrilled to honor the man who holds it, Atlanta's own Hank Aaron," said Bastian. "Mr. Aaron thrilled millions of fans in his years with the Braves and, since his retirement from baseball as an active player in 1976, has remained an important member of the Braves' organization and the Atlanta community. As Atlanta's hometown airline and the Official Airline of the Atlanta Braves, Delta is proud to dedicate one of our aircraft to a resident of the Atlanta community who has become a national treasure and a global baseball icon."
As a member of the Atlanta Braves, Aaron broke baseball's home run record on April 8, 1974 -- hitting his 715th home run off Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Al Downing. He went on to hit 755 home runs in a 23-year career and still holds Major League Baseball's all-time records for RBI (2,297), extra-base hits (1,477) and total bases (6,856). He was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, his first year of eligibility, and is currently a senior vice president with the Braves.
Delta Air Lines offers customers service to more destinations than any global airline with Delta and Delta Connection carrier service to 332 destinations in 57 countries. With more than 60 new international routes introduced in the last year, Delta has added more international capacity than all other U.S. airlines combined and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 36 trans-Atlantic destinations. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers nearly 700 weekly flights to 63 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 15,000 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. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 479 worldwide destinations in 105 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
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