Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today announced it is further enhancing the airport experience for customers at the gate by offering real-time audio announcements to keep customers informed. These voice announcements with answers to frequently asked customer questions will soon be heard in all of Delta’s airport locations and will match flight updates provided on Delta’s Gate Information Display Screens (GIDS) in 18 Delta cities.

Information provided to customers through gate audio includes flight information such as flight number, gate and city destination; meal announcements; standby upgrade opportunities; infant travel information; carry-on baggage allowance and ID requirements; standby travel information; boarding announcements and more. Announcements are played in two-minute intervals beginning at 45 minutes prior to scheduled flight departure. Delta agents control the boarding process by starting audio boarding announcements that correspond with boarding information shown on the GIDS screens.

“Delta is pleased to be the first airline to offer real-time audio technology in its gate areas to customers,” said Rich Cordell, senior vice president, Airport Customer Service. “Our customers tell us they want to be kept continuously informed during the boarding process. Our gate audio product does exactly this, while providing customers with more consistent service delivery.”

Following successful testing, Delta will begin rolling out gate audio to its top 81 domestic airports, which are currently going through Delta’s airport transformation. Delta’s 18 airports with GIDS screens will receive gate audio first, beginning this month. In October, gate audio will be expanded to many Delta airports that don’t have GIDS. Customers traveling from a domestic gate to the Caribbean and Canada also will hear gate audio announcements.

Delta’s new gate audio product is part of its $30 million investment to transform the airline’s top 81 airports to improve the travel experience for customers. Delta’s industry-leading airport model includes a combination of airport lobby re-design, increased self-service technology and new airport customer service roles for employees that will help deliver speed, convenience and helpful, friendly service to Delta customers.

“With these new gate enhancements, we’re ensuring that our customers have a better, faster and friendlier airport experience at Delta,” said Cordell.

More than 60 airports already have been transformed to speed travel for customers including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Houston’s Hobby airport, Los Angeles, New York’s LaGuardia airport, Orlando, Fla.; Salt Lake City and Tampa, Fla.

Delta Air Lines, the world’s second largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offers 5,883 flights each day to 447 destinations in 81 countries on Delta, Song, Delta Express, Delta Shuttle, Delta Connection and Delta’s worldwide partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. For more information, please go to delta.com.

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