Delta Named Official Airline for 2002 Olympic Torch Relay

Boeing 777 Soaring Spirit II to transport flame from Athens to the United States

Delta Air Lines and the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 have announced that Delta will be the Official Charter Flight Provider and Official Provider of the 2002 Olympic Torch Relay. The carrier is the first official provider named for the 2002 Torch Relay.

On hand for the event in Salt Lake City, Martin White, Delta vice president of Consumer Marketing said, "Delta is proud and excited to again have the honor of transporting the Olympic Flame from Greece to the United States. All of our 4,700 employees here in Salt Lake City are committed to the success of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and to the positive impact it will have on our Salt Lake City hub and the surrounding communities."

As part of the agreement, Delta employees will have an opportunity to participate in Torch Relay activities.

The Olympic Torch Relay for the Salt Lake 2002 Games will be the most extensive and far-reaching in Olympic Winter Games history. The Relay will travel coast-to-coast, visit more than 80 cities, cover nearly 14,000 miles, involve more than 11,000 torchbearers, and reach a potential population base of 137 million people.

A new Olympic flame is traditionally ignited from the sun's rays for each Games at a ceremony in Olympia, Greece. The Torch Relay will begin in November or December 2001 and culminate in the lighting of the Olympic cauldron in Salt Lake City on February 8, 2002.

"The Olympic flame serves as one of the most visible symbols of the Games, and it will be in excellent care with Delta Air Lines," said Mitt Romney, SLOC president and CEO. "We are thrilled to bring the Olympic Torch Relay to the United States as people across the country experience, as participants or spectators, this special moment. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee thanks Delta Air Lines for its continuing support of the 2002 Games."

Delta Unveils New Soaring Spirit
To celebrate the event, the carrier unveiled its new Boeing 777 Olympic aircraft – The Soaring Spirit II. The aircraft, which sports a dramatic livery design featuring images of Olympic Gold Medalist Bonnie Blair and Olympic athletes Duncan Kennedy and Ryan Heckman, will be used to transport the Olympic Flame from its home in Greece to North America.

"It is a pleasure to have this relationship with a company whose commitment to excellence and outstanding service complements the Olympic ideals of excellence in performance," said the five-time gold medallist Blair.

To commemorate the event, Delta will create and distribute to the first 3,000 event attendees a limited edition Olympic pin featuring the Boeing 777 Soaring Spirit II.

Delta is the Official Airline Sponsor of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games . Delta also was the Official Airline of the 1996 Centennial Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, transporting the Olympic Flame from Greece to the United States for the summer games.

Delta’s goal is to become the #1 airline in the eyes of its customers, flying passengers and cargo from anywhere to everywhere. Passengers already choose to fly Delta more often than any other airline in the world, and the carrier was named "Best-Managed Major Airline" in 1999 by Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine. Customers have access to a global network of 5,360 flights each day to 356 cities in 57 countries on Delta, Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, the Delta Connection carriers and Delta's Worldwide Partners.