ATLANTA, June 1, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) today announced the promotion of three Delta leaders who are integral to the company's ongoing transformation from a domestically focused carrier to a truly global airline. Robert Cortelyou is being promoted from vice president to senior vice president - Network Planning; Pam Elledge is being promoted from vice president to senior vice president - Global Sales and Distribution; and Gail Grimmett is being promoted from vice president to senior vice president - Revenue Management.
"Under their leadership, the company successfully implemented one of the biggest network restructurings in airline history, enabling Delta to significantly improve its revenue performance against the industry," said Glen Hauenstein, executive vice president - Network and Revenue Management. "Our goal this year is to completely close the remaining revenue gap with our network competitors, and I'm confident that this team can accomplish that."
As senior vice president - Network Planning, Bob Cortelyou will continue to be responsible for network planning and worldwide route development. During his 22-month tenure at Delta, Cortelyou and his team have introduced and implemented the largest international expansion in the airline's history with the launch of more than 60 new international routes. Cortelyou's efforts formed the cornerstone of the company's network restructuring and Delta's return to leadership in the industry. Cortelyou is a 25-year airline veteran.
In her role as senior vice president - Global Sales and Distribution, Elledge will continue to be responsible for business growth efforts in all revenue channels and for leading Delta's worldwide sales organization. Last year her team opened a record number of sales offices around the world to support Delta's international expansion, including complex and emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa. Elledge, a 27-year Delta veteran, has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the sales organization.
As senior vice president - Revenue Management, Gail Grimmett will continue to be responsible for pricing and inventory management strategies for Delta's global network. Under her leadership, the revenue management team implemented an industry-leading revenue management system and competitive pricing strategies that accelerated Delta's emergence from Chapter 11 by achieving its revenue targets more than a year ahead of schedule. During Grimmett's 12 years at Delta, she has held various positions including managing director - Investor Relations and chief economist - Corporate Forecasting and Planning.
"These promotions underscore our commitment to building a network that takes our customers to places where they most want to visit and do business," said Lee Macenczak, executive vice president - Sales and Marketing. "This team will continue to be critical in building the infrastructure needed to increase Delta's global presence, including serving emerging markets like Africa and Asia."
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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