Major US airline celebrates 45 years of flying to the UK following long-awaited Gatwick Airport return

Delta is returning to Gatwick Airport after a 15-year absence, and the return of the airline’s service coincides with its 45th anniversary of serving the UK-US market.

The world looked and sounded different in 1978. Back then, flares were all the fashion and the charts on both sides of the Atlantic were dominated by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, with songs from film musical Grease, while TV viewers were gripped by the feuding Ewing family in Texas-based drama Dallas.

As times have changed, so has Delta’s global presence. When Delta began flying nonstop from Atlanta, Georgia to Gatwick on April 30 of that year, it was the airline’s first international flight that touched down using a three-engined Lockheed L-1011, better known as a Tristar.

The airline’s international expansion took off, and today Delta has become one of the world’s biggest carriers.

Airline cuisine has also evolved since 1978, when Delta used the start of its London flights to introduce a three-class experience – First Class, Medallion Service (business class), and Economy Class.

Today flights to the UK feature three or four product experiences, including Delta One, boasting the freshest regionally-sourced ingredients and chef-curated meals.

Additionally, Delta is offering an enhanced Delta Premium Select experience which offers a customers an elevated dining experience.

Inflight entertainment has advanced too. Kay Carpenter was a Delta Flight Attendant on that first London Gatwick flight and is still flying with Delta today.

Kay said: “This was our inaugural trans-Atlantic flight; we were all excited as Delta took it’s first leap across the Atlantic. And to add to the excitement, we were showing our first ever in-flight movie. It was Oh God with George Burns and John Denver.

“Today customers have a huge range of film, TV and audio they can watch at their seat as well as Wi-Fi access on all flights.

“In fact, so much has changed since that first flight. We offer our customers a much-enhanced service with a wider selection of meals, and seating options, personalized inflight entertainment and just a more comfortable experience overall.

“With London being our first transoceanic flight, it helped us learn what our international customers wanted as we worked to make Delta the airline of choice.

“London was more than just a first in that respect, it paved the way for us as a major international airline.”

Delta’s UK presence has grown significantly over the last four decades. This summer, in addition to the recently launched nonstop to Los Angeles from London-Heathrow route, Delta will offer 40 peak-day flights from London-Heathrow, London-Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Manchester, to the major U.S. hubs in partnership with Virgin Atlantic.

Looking forwards, Delta is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It plans to replace 10 percent of its jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel by end of 2030 and is partnering with corporate customers to support more sustainable business travel.

It’s also building a fleet with new planes that are 25 per cent more fuel-efficient on average than those they’ve replaced since 2019, reducing single-use plastic consumption by up to 4.9m pounds (2.2m kgs) annually and using bedding made from 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles in its Delta One and Delta Premium Select cabins.

The airline is working to build a new future where travel and sustainability are not mutually exclusive.

Delta flights between the US and the UK are available to book on delta.com.