<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.1
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>g71748ex99-1.txt
<DESCRIPTION>PRESS RELEASE
<TEXT>
<PAGE>   1
                                                                   EXHIBIT 99.1


ATLANTA, Sept. 17, 2001 - Delta Air Lines said today, in connection with the
anticipated closing of its Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates (EETC)
financing in the amount of $1.25 billion, that it notes the announcement by
Continental Airlines of an anticipated delayed payment on certain of
Continental's EETC debt, and stated:

1.       Delta has no material financial obligations coming due prior to
         December 2001.

2.       Delta has no intention of delaying payment on any financial
         obligation.

3.       Delta has a cash balance of $1.3 billion prior to the anticipated
         closing of the EETC. The closing of the EETC will increase the
         company's cash balance to $2.55 billion.

4.       After the closing of the EETC financing, Delta estimates it has
         approximately $8.9 billion in unencumbered aircraft, of which more
         than $5 billion are Section 1110 eligible. These assets would be
         potentially available for sale and leaseback transactions and, subject
         to certain lender waiver requirements, for secured debt transactions.

5.       On Sunday, Delta continued to restore its scheduled operations. For
         the day, Delta completed 82% of is normal daily schedule, operating
         2,093 flights and carrying more than 140,000 customers. More than 70%
         of its flights operated on-time within 15 minutes.

                          FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

                  Statements in this press release that are not purely
         historical facts, including statements about our estimates,
         expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies for the future, may be
         "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities
         Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve
         risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
         materially from historical experience or our present expectations.

                  Factors that could cause these differences include, but are
         not limited to the effects of the attacks on the United States by
         terrorists on September 11, 2001. The effects of these tragic events
         could include a decreased demand for air travel due to fears regarding
         additional acts of terrorism; an increase in the price of jet fuel
         because of concerns regarding the possibility of hostilities in the
         Middle East; increased costs and reduced operations by airlines due to
         new security directives adopted by the Federal Aviation
         Administration; and the condition of the financial markets. These
         effects, depending on their scope and duration - which we cannot
         predict at this time - could have a material adverse impact on Delta's
         financial condition or results of operations.

                  Caution should be taken not to place undue reliance on our
         forward-looking statements, which are current only as of the date of
         this press release. More detailed information about other risks and
         uncertainties can be read in Delta's past and future Forms 10-K and
         10-Q and certain Forms 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
         Commission.

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