Photo credit: Delta

Delta Air Lines on Friday unveiled its custom Team USA aircraft livery honoring the global carrier’s commitment to connect athletes with their dreams as the official airline of Team USA. The Team USA-inspired A330-900 celebrates Delta’s new eight-year partnership with Team USA, which runs through the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Delta and Team USA share a deep belief that connecting the world makes us all better,” said Tim Mapes, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Delta. “This one-of-a-kind livery celebrates our partnership, which has been built on shared values and the inspiring athletes of Team USA, whose indomitable spirit lies at the heart of both our ‘Keep Climbing’ message and the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.”

The custom livery was designed by Shane Edwards, Delta’s Product and Experiential Design Manager, in collaboration with the airline’s in-house creative team, Window Seat. Unique Team USA design elements that are incorporated throughout the livery were developed by Carey McKay, Delta Art Director and Graphic Designer, and will also be featured in various Delta visuals, materials and platforms both in flight and on the ground.

“The team opted for a clean, classic design to promote the partnership between Team USA and Delta,” Edwards said. “The Team USA logo is prominently featured, along with a blue gradient that represents the sky and 'rise to the top' with a grounding red element representing the resilience needed to get there.”

The custom paint design, which will start flying Dec. 18, will be assigned primarily trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific routes. Serving Delta’s commitment and path to a more sustainable future, the A330-900 is a key part of Delta’s widebody fleet renewal plan and is 21% more fuel efficient per ASM than the 767s it replaces in the fleet. The plane encompasses Delta’s enduring support for Team USA and its pursuit of excellence.

To further its commitment to Team USA, Delta has also proudly partnered with six inspiring athletes on their journey to the Beijing Winter Games. Delta and Team USA have a shared drive to be the best, and the airline will support these athletes both on and off the field of play, celebrating their stories of resilience and perseverance as they pursue their Olympic and Paralympic dreams.

U.S. Olympians and hopefuls:

• Maame Biney: Short Track Speed Skating from Reston, Virginia

  Born in Ghana and relocated to the U.S. at the age of five with her father, Maame burst on the scene in 2018, becoming the first African American woman to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Short Track speed skating team and winning the 500m team trial at just 17 years old.

• Amber Glenn: Figure Skating from Plano, Texas

  Amber is a U.S. Junior Champion (2014) and recently finished second at the 2021 U.S. Championships. In 2019, Amber came out as bisexual/pansexual—just the third woman to come out in her sport—and faced stereotypes head-on while standing as an advocate for representation in her sport.

• Breezy Johnson: Alpine Skiing from Jackson Hole, Wyoming

  Breezy made her Olympic debut in 2018, finishing seventh in the downhill and 14^th in Super-G. She has persevered through three leg injuries in the past four seasons to come back to four straight podium finishes.

U.S. Paralympians and hopefuls:

• Dan Cnossen: Para Nordic Skiing from Topeka, Kansas

  As a U.S. Navy Seal, Dan stepped on an IED and lost both his legs in the blast, later being awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor. He was a member of the 2014 and 2018 U.S. Paralympic Teams, winning one gold, four silver and one bronze medal, earning him the honor of Best Male Athlete of the Games. 

• Jen Lee: Men’s Sled Hockey from Denver

  Jen was introduced to sled hockey in 2009 following a motorcycle accident that required his left leg to be amputated. He was a member of the Gold Medal winning sled hockey teams at the Paralympic Games Sochi 2014 as well as the Paralympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018. 

• Oksana Masters: Para Nordic Skiing from Champaign, Illinois

  Oksana was born in Ukraine with significant birth defects due to radiation from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. A double leg amputee, Oksana has won ten medals at the Paralympic Games in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020 in rowing, skiing and hand cycling.

Delta revealed the new livery at an event Friday hosted by Olympians Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir near its global headquarters in Atlanta. Nearly 600 employees were in attendance as Delta CEO Ed Bastian unveiled the aircraft livery alongside LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games Chairperson Casey Wasserman. Olympic Legends Apolo Ohno (Speed Skating) and Vonetta Flowers (Bobsled) were also on hand for the first look, alongside Cnossen, Glenn and U.S. Paralympian Mallory Weggemann.  

"I’m very proud to partner with Delta on the road to the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” Cnossen said. “Its support is invaluable, especially as I approach my third Paralympic Games, and it is very exciting to see how they will celebrate Team USA through the new livery design. Delta is all about helping people’s dreams take flight, whether you’re an Olympic or Paralympic athlete or an everyday traveler. This plane is one of many ways Delta will bring the Olympic and Paralympic spirit to life in the air and on the ground—and as an athlete, I’m honored to be a part of this journey.”

As Team USA’s official airline, Delta will manage travel for U.S. Olympians and Paralympians to Beijing 2022, Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and LA28, where it also is an inaugural founding partner. The first Beijing-bound flight will depart in January from Los Angeles International Airport and operate as a charter in order to meet Chinese government entry requirements. Delta’s charter flights are the only way Team USA athletes and staff will travel to Beijing 2022 from the U.S.

“Even through a global pandemic, Team USA athletes have endured and thrived in pursuit of the Olympic and Paralympic dream,” said Bill Wernecke, Managing Director – Charter Operations. “We are proud to carry this extraordinary team into competition and we look forward to being the first to welcome them home.”

The partnership with Team USA furthers the global airline’s longstanding support for sport—and its proud history supporting Team USA at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Delta served as a past sponsor of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in its hometown in the Atlanta 1996 and Salt Lake City 2002.