In the wake of the deadly mid-air collision between a Blackhawk helicopter and an American Airlines regional coming into land at National Reagan Airport in January, airline passengers have been understandably anxious about air safety.
That anxiety probably hasn’t been calmed by the fallout from the accident, with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealing that there had been more than 15,000 close calls between helicopter and commercial airliners at the airport between 2021 and 2024.
Add to that the political barbs that have been traded from all sides, including the assertion by President Trump that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under the previous administration elevated “dangerous discrimination over excellence” or accusations from the largest flight attendant union in the US that policies coming out of the White House are putting passengers in “great danger.”
In an effort to calm jittery nerves, pilots have been taking the time to make announcements before takeoff to reassure anxious passengers, although this one from Delta Air Lines pilots added some much-needed humor to the mix.
“Once again, I can assure you that we are going to do things absolutely 100% safe and secure and get you there [to your destination]. I’m married, 33 years, my wife, four kids, two dogs, eight chickens. She’s tired of going out and taking care of those chickens in the cold. She wants me to get home.”
The light-hearted but reassuring safety announcement was captured on film by passenger Liz Chann, who posted the video on her Instagram page last week.
The video shows the pilot standing at the front of the Delta Airbus A319 aircraft speaking into the tannoy while struggling to keep a straight face.
Liz jokingly commented: “Delta pilot has his priorities straight.”
Whether the pilot and his family have eight chickens is down to the price of eggs is a question that remains unanswered.
On Wednesday, Delta revealed that it will start retiring some of its older Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft sooner than planned because of waning travel demand owing to the gloomy economic outlook.
In addition to the A320 series aircraft that will be sent to the boneyard, the airline also said it would bring forward the retirement of some Boeing 757 and 767 aircraft.
At the same time, Delta doesn’t plan to take delivery of any new aircraft built in Europe by aerospace giant Airbus if tariffs are applied to the planes. Delta says it’s talking with Airbus, potentially in the hope of securing a discount of between 10% and 20% on the agreed purchase price – otherwise, the deliveries will be deferred until Trump’s tariffs have been removed.
The airline has 15 Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft still to be delivered, along with 20 stretched A350-1000 aircraft – the first of which is meant to be delivered to Delta in 2026.
