Delta Air Lines is celebrating six years of nonstop service between Ghana and the United States this month.
Delta launched its first flight between Accra’s Kotoka International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport in December 2006 and today operates a five weekly nonstop service between Accra and New York-JFK and a three weekly service to Monrovia, Liberia.
"We are extremely proud to be marking six years of flying to Ghana and thanks to the support of the airport, government authorities and local community, our service has gone from strength to strength," said Bobby Bryan, Delta's commercial manager for West and East Africa.
Mr Bryan in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency on Friday also said: "Ghana is an important market in Africa for Delta and we are committed to serving Accra for many years to come."
Delta launched service between Accra and New York in December 2006 using a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft carrying up to 216 passengers which operated four times weekly. Since that date Delta has grown its presence in Ghana with the launch of service between Accra and Monrovia, Liberia in February 2011.
Delta has also invested in the products and facilities it offers in Ghana. Delta rolled-out a dedicated Delta protocol service at Accra airport, an airport concierge service providing Delta service throughout the entire airport experience. The service provides support for Delta Business Elite customers through check-in, customs and immigration, lounge pick up, and luggage assistance.
The Airline has also invested in the construction of two new departure gates with Ghana Airports Company Ltd and joint venture partner KLM, at Accra Airport. The departure gates, which opened in June 2011, feature air conditioning with more than 130 seats, as well as television information screens, providing improved airport facilities for Delta customers.
Delta is also in the second year of the Business School Internship program for Ghana business students. The scheme provides students with the opportunity to learn how a global company operates, build on their skills and support future career opportunities.
The statement said from early 2013, Delta would begin rolling out Wi-Fi on its international fleet. The introduction of Wi-Fi on flights between Accra and New York-JFK will make Delta the first airline to offer our customers access to the Internet at 30,000 feet from Ghana.
Through its hubs in New York JFK, Delta offers an unsurpassed network of hundreds of onward connections to destinations throughout the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America and Canada.

Passengers flying on Delta’s nonstop services from Accra can benefit from time savings of up to six hours compared with flying via European hubs. Delta is in the midst of a .2 billion project to upgrade its Terminal 4 facilities at New York JFK airport, creating a state-of-the-art international gateway at JFK, scheduled to open in May 2013.

“Customers can look forward to a number of enhanced onboard services as well as using the newly renovated terminal at JFK next year. Passengers travelling onwards from New York benefit from convenient connections to cities such as Washington, Houston and Los Angeles via our new gateway,” Bryan stated.

In Africa, Delta has transported almost 3 million passengers on its Africa services since the airline launched its first flights from the continent in December 2006. The airline flies to five cities in five African countries: Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lagos, Nigeria; and Monrovia, Liberia.

Delta was nominated ‘Best Flight Experience to Africa’ by Executive Travel Magazine’s readers in its Leading Edge Awards 2012.