Delta Air Lines Executive Visits RTC

David Martin’s vision is “That Delta Air Lines is THE airline for people with disabilities.” 

Martin is Delta’s Program Manager for Disability in the DOT (Department of Transportation) Compliance Group within the Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance Department. In January 2012, he visited the RTC/IL to discuss future collaborations and to meet with Dr. Glen White, who serves on Delta’s Advisory Board on Disability and is Chair of the Research and Quality Assurance Committee. 

Martin also made a presentation on “Air Transportation and Passengers with Disabilities” to Dr. Dot Nary’s Applied Behavioral Science 437 class, “Independent Living and People with Disabilities." 

As an advisor to Delta, White is now leading development of a Delta task analysis assessment tool, which will gather information from passengers with disabilities about their experiences from curbside to boarding the aircraft, as well as any problems inflight. Delta plans to incorporate suggestions for improvement into the company’s internal audit for monitoring quality service for passengers with disabilities. 

Martin and White have also adapted the RTC's poster about person-first language for a Delta-specific poster (pictured here). (Person-first language emphasizes the person rather than his or her disability.) 

This special version of "Your Words, Our Image" is posted in every Delta airport station break room. "In some cases, it's one of the last items our agents see when they head out to the counters," said Martin.