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Delta's 'Dream Flight' Carries Aviation Students to Johnson Space Center

Posted on: Wednesday, 23 July 2008, 12:00 CDT

ATLANTA, July 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and the Organization of Black Airline Pilots (OBAP) today celebrate the ninth annual 'Dream Flight' carrying more than 150 students to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Delta co-sponsors OBAP's Aviation Career Education (ACE) camp -- two, week-long summer programs for youth, ages 14-18, who have an interest in pursuing careers in aviation. During the camp, held primarily at Delta's world headquarters in Atlanta, qualified flight instructors teach students aviation history, aerodynamics, meteorology, navigation and flight simulator orientation. Select graduates from ACE Camp are invited back the following year to participate in Flight Line, an intensive tutorial focused specifically on pilot training, including allowing students to perform solo flights during their week-long training.

As part of the final week of training, all camp students participate in a day-long field trip to an aviation facility in the United States. Past trips include visits to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla., and most recently the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

"We are proud to continue Delta's tradition of educating future professionals," said Stephen Dickson, Delta's senior vice president - Flight Operations. "Regardless of whether these teens become pilots, flight attendants or something else, we know that their time at camp has given them a bigger platform to pursue their educational and employment dreams."

Delta donated a charter flight to carry the aviation students, many of whom are taking their first commercial flight. After arriving in Houston on Flight 9997, operated by Delta using a Boeing 757, students will enjoy a guided tour of the historic space center, complete with briefings from active NASA astronauts.

In the brief ACE camp/Flight Line history, Delta and OBAP have exposed more than 1000 students to careers in aviation. Currently, six former ACE camp attendees are studying aviation at the U.S. Air Force and Naval Academies, and four other camp alumni are commercial pilots.

On Friday, July 25, all three camps will take part of the 2008 graduation ceremonies held in the Delta Training Center.

Delta Air Lines operates service to more worldwide destinations than any airline with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 327 destinations in 62 countries. Delta has added more international capacity than any major U.S. airline during the last two years and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 44 trans-Atlantic markets. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers 609 weekly flights to 62 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on more than 16,000 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 499 worldwide destinations in 105 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.

The Delta Air Lines, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1825

This news release was distributed by PrimeNewswire, www.primenewswire.com

CONTACT: Delta Air Lines Corporate Communications 404-715-2554

Source: PrimeNewswire

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