Earlier this week I was invited to attend a social media event at Delta Air Lines. #InsideDelta was a look inside what it takes to keep one of the world’s largest airlines flying. It was more focused on passenger experience, and was not a meeting of the minds about the SkyMiles program, though that certainly came up during the visit.

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The schedule was intense and included behind the scenes tours of the Operations and Customer Center (OCC), the airport coordination tower above Concourse A at Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL), and baggage operations. After a Sky Club luncheon discussion with Jeff Robertson, VP Product Development, Sky Clubs & Marketing Communications, we got a look at the BusinessElite cabin of an A330, then toured Technical Operations (aircraft and engine maintenance), and Delta’s social media lab. The day concluded with a roundtable discussion with CEO Richard Anderson followed by a dinner presented by Chef Linton Hopkins, who is working with Delta on select BusinessElite meal services.

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Day 2 began with a tour of the In-Flight Service Training Center where we got a taste of the 7 weeks of intense training Delta’s new hire flight attendants receive. Impressive for sure, but hands down, my favorite part of the visit with In-Flight was the simulated emergency evacuation, complete with landing gear collapse.

#InsideDelta concluded with an invitation to the grand opening celebration of the Delta Flight Museum. For an aviation buff like me, it was like being a kid in a candy store.

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#InsideDelta was a very dynamic learning experience, and this post and my teaser posts this week are only scratching the surface. I’ll be working through the weekend to prepare a complete post, perhaps a few posts, on the entire event, including more specifics, and a few interesting tidbits from the executives we met with too. Some surprisingly frank discussions to share. In the meantime, check out the Twitterfeed throughout if you’re curious.

-MJ, June 20, 2014