Delta Air Lines Equips Entire Fleet With
 Defibrillators And Expanded Emergency Medical
 Kits Delta leads the industry with new in-flight
 customer service and safety program 
 January 14, 1998
 Jenny Poole, senior vice president of in- flight service for Delta Air
Lines announced today that Delta plans to enhance in-flight customer
service and safety by equipping its entire fleet -- 558 aircraft -- with
automatic external defibrillators with heart monitoring capability and
expanded emergency medical kits beginning in July 1998.
 "As a result of this initiative, Delta's aircraft will be equipped with
the finest emergency medical equipment of any carrier in the world," said
Jenny Poole. "We congratulate American Airlines for taking the first step
with this issue last year by installing defibrillators on its aircraft that
fly over water. We are not only following their example, but raising the
standard by equipping each Delta  aircraft with a defibrillator and an
expanded emergency medical kit."
 "Our goal is to be the best airline in the eyes of our customers and we
are committed to providing our employees with the necessary tools and
training to ensure in-flight customer service and safety that is second
to none," Poole continued.
 Delta's fleet will be equipped with defibrillators with heart monitoring
capability, manufactured by Heartstream (Nasdaq: HTST) of Seattle, to treat
victims of sudden cardiac. Delta is the first U.S. airline to equip its
entire fleet.
 Delta flight attendants will be trained to operate the easy-to-use,
battery-operated defibrillator, called the ForeRunner(R). The ForeRunner(R)
guides the attendant though the process with voice prompts and determines
whether the patient needs an electrical shock and delivers it when
appropriate. It also  provides a visual display of the heart's rhythm to
help an attending physician, if one is on board, to better evaluate the
passenger's condition.
 Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the United States,
killing more than 350,000 people each year. Nearly 90 percent of these
events are caused by abnormal heart rhythm, most commonly ventricular
fibrillation. Defibrillation is the only definitive treatment of this
condition and victims must be defibrillated within four minutes to achieve
a 60 percent survival rate.
 In addition to the FAA-required emergency medical kit, Delta also announced
it will install a second medical emergency kit on each aircraft in its fleet.
Manufactured by Banyan of Abilene, Texas, the expanded medical kit, which may
only be opened by a doctor, will include certain prescription medicines and
equipment to treat the most common in-flight medical emergencies, including
cardiac arrest; epileptic seizure; asthma or bronchitis; diabetic episodes;
psychosis or severe anxiety; nausea, vomiting or motion sickness; and
injuries.
 "For medical professionals who respond to requests for on-board assistance
with emergencies, the enhanced medical kit and the availability of a
monitoring defibrillator will be eagerly welcomed..." said Dr. Cris Bisgard,
Delta's director of health services. "For passengers who need treatment that
 can't wait, they will be life savers." 
 Delta carries more passengers worldwide than any other airline. In 1997,
Delta was the first airline to carry more than 103 million passengers in
one year.
 SOURCE Delta Air Lines, Inc. 
 CONTACT: Corporate Communications, Delta Air Lines, 404-715-2531
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