Delta Tops Fortune 2024 World's Most Admired Airlines' List

Delta Air Lines has been recognized by Fortune with a No. 11 placement on Fortune’s Top 50 Most Admired Companies list.

The company’s strong management and commitment to providing elevated experiences and premium products also secured a No. 1 ranking out of the 8 airlines on the list.

“For 11 years in a row, the Delta team has earned a prominent spot on Fortune’s ranking of Most Admired Companies,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “This recognition is incredibly well deserved for the world’s greatest team who keeps soaring no matter what challenges they encounter on a daily basis.”

Delta scored 6.57 overall in the rankings; the next-highest score for a U.S. airline was 4.89.

To maintain an elevated level of operational excellence, Delta people propel the industry forward with the relentless focus on raising the bar at every stage of the travel journey. Delivering safe and reliable service for our customers is what continuously promotes a culture of strong trust and performance. Our people are the reason that Delta is the most awarded airline in the industry.

This past year, Delta scaled its investments to enhance the premium experience both in the air and on the ground. The airline is carrying out its industry-leading commitment to bringing fast, free Delta Sync Wi-Fi presented by T-Mobile to its entire global fleet and is introducing Delta Sync seatback, making seatback screens feel more like smart TVs. Delta also launched multiple Delta Sky Clubs and oversaw major renovations and expansions at hubs including JFK and LGA, LAX and SLC.

Delta has well proven its dominance in the industry with multiple recognitions, including Top U.S. Airline by Wall Street Journal, Cirium’s Platinum Award for high timeliness and operational excellence, and placing No. 1 in the Business Travel Magazine survey for the thirteenth year in a row.

Fortune collaborated with Korn Ferry on this survey of corporate reputations. The publication began with about 1,500 candidates: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in Fortune’s Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more.

The assortment was narrowed to the highest-revenue companies in each industry, a total of 660 in 29 countries. The top-rated companies were picked from that pool of 660; the executives who voted work at the companies in that group.

To determine the best-regarded companies in 52 industries, Korn Ferry asked executives, directors, and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent. A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey to be listed.

To select the top 50, Korn Ferry asked 3,720 executives, directors and securities analysts who had responded to the industry surveys to select the 10 companies they admired most. They chose from a list made up of the companies that ranked in the top 25% in last year’s surveys, plus those that finished in the top 20% of their industry. Anyone could vote for any company in any industry.