<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.1
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>apressrelease.txt
<DESCRIPTION>PRESS RELEASE DATED DECEMBER 8 2008
<TEXT>
                                                                EXHIBIT 99.1

[LOGO OF AMERICAN EXPRESS]  [LOGO OF DELTA SKYTEAM]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Delta Air Lines
         Corporate Communications
         404-715-2554

         American Express
         Desiree Fish
         212-640-4761, desiree.c.fish@aexp.com



          DELTA AND AMERICAN EXPRESS ANNOUNCE MULTIYEAR EXTENSION FOR
                        CO-BRANDED SKYMILES CREDIT CARD

        AGREEMENT PROVIDES DELTA WITH MORE THAN $2 BILLION IN COMBINED
               INCREMENTAL LIQUIDITY AND CONTRACT ENHANCEMENTS


   AGREEMENT TO RESULT IN EXPANDED OPPORTUNITIES FOR AMERICAN EXPRESS ACROSS
    CO-BRAND CREDIT CARD, MEMBERSHIP REWARDS, MERCHANT SERVICES AND TRAVEL


ATLANTA AND NEW YORK, Dec. 9, 2008 - Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and American
Express (NYSE: AXP) today announced a multiyear extension of their exclusive
Co-brand Credit Card partnerships. The companies have offered a portfolio of
card products since 1996 that provide valuable opportunities to earn and
redeem Delta SkyMiles(R). The multiyear extension allows continued expansion
of the program with positive benefits to both Delta and American Express.

The companies also agreed to extensions of their other partnership
arrangements, including American Express Membership Rewards, merchant
acceptance and travel.

As part of the broad-based partnership agreement, Delta will receive an
immediate $1 billion boost to its liquidity from a purchase of SkyMiles. Delta
expects to receive an additional $1 billion from contract improvements through
2010.

In return, American Express will be able to grow the value of its Co-brand
Cards and the Membership Rewards program. American Express Cardmembers will be
offered expanded options for booking travel on the world's largest airline. In
addition, American Express will have the opportunity to increase merchant
acceptance in more places in the Midwest region of the United States.

"As Delta integrates the Northwest WorldPerks program into Delta SkyMiles, our
extended agreement with American Express offers continued financial benefits
for both companies," said Delta President Edward H. Bastian. "Pairing the
world's premier airline loyalty program with the world-class American Express
brand continues a history of offering superior and innovative programs for our
customers."

"Working with Delta since the early '90s has helped us strengthen Cardmember
loyalty and build substantial amounts of business," said Jud Linville,
president and CEO of American Express Consumer Services. "Our Delta Co-brand
Cards are among our most successful products, and we are delighted to build on
this position following Delta's recent acquisition of Northwest. This is a
great opportunity to expand in the Midwest, extend popular Membership Rewards
options with new routes, and enhance unique Co-brand Card offers like the
ability to redeem miles for any seat, any time on the world's largest
airline."

In late 2009, Delta plans to merge Northwest WorldPerks with SkyMiles to
create the world's premier airline loyalty program and a consolidated Co-brand
Credit Card program. Northwest WorldPerks Co-brand Cardholders can continue to
earn WorldPerks miles just as they do today on their U.S. Bank issued cards,
and all WorldPerks miles earned prior to integration will be safe and
transferred in full to Delta SkyMiles when the two programs are integrated.

Delta plans to continue its longstanding partnership with U.S. Bank through
their existing corporate relationships including merchant acquiring, an
expanded debit card program and corporate lending.

The award-winning Delta SkyMiles program offers members multiple
mileage-earning opportunities when flying Delta, Delta Shuttle(R), the Delta
Connection(R) carriers, Delta AirElite(R) and other SkyTeam(R) airlines. Now
in its 27th year, SkyMiles is one of the longest-running and most successful
loyalty programs in the travel industry. It was named "Best Domestic Frequent
Flyer program" for 2007 and 2008 by readers of EXECUTIVE TRAVELER magazine and
"Best Frequent Flyer Program" for 2006 and 2007 by BUSINESS TRAVELER magazine.
The program also received top honors for "Best Bonus Promotion" from
INSIDEFLYER magazine at the 2007 Freddie Awards. Details of the SkyMiles
program are available at delta.com/skymiles.

ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS
American Express Company (www.americanexpress.com) is a leading global
payments and travel company founded in 1850. American Express issues a broad
and diverse set of consumer, small business and corporate card products and
services globally, including charge cards, credit cards, reward cards and
co-brand cards. All American Express Cards offer access to a wide array of
rewards, unique experiences and world-class customer service. Over the years,
American Express Card products and services have been recognized as leaders in
the industry by many organizations and media outlets. Most recently American
Express ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction among Credit Card Companies,"
for the second consecutive year according to the second annual nationwide
study by J.D. Power and Associates (jdpower.com).

ABOUT DELTA AIR LINES
Delta Air Lines is the world's largest airline. From its hubs in Atlanta,
Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake
City and Tokyo-Narita, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection
carriers offer service to more than 376 destinations worldwide in 66 countries
and serve more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta's marketing
alliances allow customers to earn and redeem either SkyMiles or WorldPerks on
more than 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta
and its 75,000 worldwide employees are reshaping the aviation industry as the
only U.S. airline to offer a full global network. Customers can check in for
flights, print boarding passes, check bags and flight status at delta.com.


FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this news release that are not historical facts, including
statements regarding our estimates, expectations, beliefs, intentions,
projections or strategies for the future, may be "forward-looking statements"
as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All
forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from the estimates,
expectations, beliefs, intentions, projections and strategies reflected in or
suggested by the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, the cost of aircraft fuel; the impact that
our indebtedness will have on our financial and operating activities and our
ability to incur additional debt; the restrictions that financial covenants in
our financing agreements will have on our financial and business operations;
labor issues; interruptions or disruptions in service at one of our hub
airports; our increasing dependence on technology in our operations; our
ability to retain management and key employees; the ability of our credit card
processors to take significant holdbacks in certain circumstances; the effects
of terrorist attacks; competitive conditions in the airline industry; and our
ability to achieve expected synergies from our merger with Northwest.

Additional information concerning risks and uncertainties that could cause
differences between actual results and forward-looking statements is contained
in Delta's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including its Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and Form 10-Q
for the quarterly period ended September 30, 2008. Caution should be taken not
to place undue reliance on Delta's forward-looking statements, which represent
Delta's views only as of Dec. 9, 2008, and which Delta has no current
intention to update.

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