ATLANTA, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines'
(NYSE: DAL) annual "Breast Cancer One" employee survivor flight
takes flight today, kicking off the airline's month-long campaign
to generate awareness and raise funds for the Breast Cancer
Research Foundation. This year marks Delta's 11th annual
survivor flight, which will carry more than 140 employee breast
cancer survivors on board Delta's newly painted pink plane on the
flight's first international route from New York City to Mexico City.
"As Delta continues to focus on expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean, we are proud to showcase on a
global scale, our commitment to finding a cure," said Sandy Gordon, Delta's Vice President – In-Flight
Service. "Our 80,000 employees worldwide look forward to this
campaign each year and rally together to find new, innovative ways
to generate awareness and funds for BCRF. We are grateful for our
employees and customers for their continued passion and support as
we work together to eradicate breast cancer."
The employee survivors, along with Delta leaders and BCRF
executives, will travel from New York
City's John F. Kennedy
International Airport to the Mexico
City International Airport. Survivors will be celebrated and
honored during a gatehouse event in New
York and an event in Aeromexico's hangar in Mexico City.
Colleagues from Delta's partner airline Aeromexico will also
take part in this experience, showcasing the international scope of
the effort to end breast cancer.
For the second year in a row, select Delta customers who are
breast cancer survivors or currently under treatment for the
disease and their guests will also join the flight. Delta customers
were encouraged to share stories of the person who provided
tireless support during their journey through the airline's Unsung
Hero social media contest. As a result, two customers and their
unsung heroes were chosen to join Delta employees on this year's
flight.
In addition to the Unsung Hero contest, Delta also held a
SkyMiles Experiences online auction, where three customers donated
a total of 263,071 miles, which will go directly toward BCRF and
its efforts. The three customers, along with their guests, will
also be a part of the flight, totaling 10 total customers on board.
In Mexico, survivors will be
treated to an overnight stay which will include dinner and a
meet-and-greet with Dr. Sofia
Merajver, one of BCRF's world-renowned researchers. Nearly
80 percent of the Delta employees involved are first-time
participants.
"Delta has been instrumental in advancing the Breast Cancer
Research Foundation's mission to be the end of breast cancer," said
Myra Biblowit, President of BCRF.
"Their passionate and dedicated employees worldwide are a driving
force in the eradication of this disease. Delta's commitment is
clear: over the last decade, they have solidly moved the dial on
raising awareness and saving lives through research."
Since 2005, Delta employees, customers and their friends and
family members have raised more than $9.2
million for BCRF, including last year's efforts of
$1.3 million. The collective
contributions have also funded the vital work of 37 different
research projects over the years.
To further raise awareness and support for breast cancer
research, Delta employees will wear pink uniforms and sell pink
products, including pink lemonade and pink headsets, on board and
in Delta Sky Clubs throughout the
month of October. Proceeds from the airline's pink products will
benefit BCRF.
Additional information, including how to donate, is available on
delta.com/bcrf.
Delta's "Pink Plane"
Delta's international
Boeing 767-400ER, which has adorned a pink-themed livery since
2010, was due for a repaint this year. As a result, teams in
Delta's Marketing department as well as those in Delta's TechOps
division worked together to design a refreshed look while taking
advantage of a unique paint formula to wrap the fuselage in a pink
ribbon. In 2012 the aircraft was formally dedicated to the memory
of Evelyn Lauder who founded the
Breast Cancer Research Foundation in 1993. The aircraft flies
international routes and will raise awareness for BCRF around the
world this year. Delta's first pink plane was a Boeing 757 that
flew between 2005 and 2010 throughout the
United States, Latin
America and the Caribbean
to generate awareness for the cause.
About Breast Cancer Research Foundation
Founded
by Evelyn H. Lauder in 1993, the
Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) advances the world's most
promising research to eradicate breast cancer. BCRF has raised
more than $570 million to fuel
discoveries in tumor biology, genetics, prevention, treatment,
survivorship and metastasis, making it one of the largest
non-governmental funders of breast cancer research in the world. In
2015, BCRF will award $48.5 million to support
240 researchers at leading medical institutions worldwide.
Since 1993, BCRF funded researchers have been deeply involved in
every major breast cancer breakthrough in prevention, diagnosis,
treatment and survivorship. By spending 91 cents of every dollar on research and public
awareness programs, BCRF remains one of the nation's most fiscally
responsible nonprofits. BCRF is the only breast cancer organization
with an "A+" from CharityWatch, together with Charity Navigator's
highest rating of four stars 13 times since 2002. For more
information, please visit: www.bcrfcure.org.
About Delta
Delta Air Lines serves more than
170 million customers each year. Delta was named to FORTUNE
magazine's top 50 World's Most Admired Companies in addition to
being named the most admired airline for the fourth time in five
years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel
News Annual Airline survey for four consecutive years, a first for
any airline. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the
Delta Connection carriers offer service to 318 destinations in 58
countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees
worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft.
The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and
participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture
with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a joint venture with
Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta
offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and
markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles,
Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia,
Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita.
Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities,
global products and services, and technology to enhance the
customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional
information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as
delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta,
Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.
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SOURCE Delta Air Lines