Delta Air Lines operates its own regional carrier, Endeavor Air, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary. Endeavor Air utilizes Bombardier CRJ900 and CRJ700 aircraft for short-haul routes across the northeastern, southeastern, and midwestern United States, as well as some international destinations in Canada and The Bahamas. The airline is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with crew domiciles in several major cities including Atlanta and New York City.
Endeavor Air’s history dates back to 1985 when it was founded by Michael J. Brady as Express Airlines 1. Initially operating under Republic Airlines through a code-share agreement, the airline expanded rapidly by acquiring additional aircraft like the Saab 340s to support Republic Airlines’ hubs.
In 1986, Northwest Airlines acquired Republic Airlines, leading Express Airlines I to operate as Northwest Airlink. This partnership saw steady growth throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. In April 1997, Northwest purchased Express Airlines 1 from Phoenix Airline Services for nearly $33 million.
The turn of the century brought changes with Express Airlines becoming a launch customer for the CRJ program under Northwest’s direction. By May 2002, it was renamed Pinnacle Airlines and later secured a code-share deal with Delta Air Lines in 2007.
Delta’s acquisition of Northwest in October 2008 led to further changes. Pinnacle faced financial challenges and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in spring 2012 but emerged over a year later flying exclusively for Delta. Following this restructuring, Pinnacle was rebranded as Endeavor Air.
Today, Endeavor Air operates a fleet of CRJ700s and CRJ900s on flights mostly lasting four hours or less due to range limitations. The company employs around 5,000 people including pilots represented by ALPA and flight attendants represented by AFA-CWA.
Endeavor offers pilots an exclusive career pathway to Delta without testing or interviews after serving as Captain for one year: “Endeavor Air pilots have an exclusive, guaranteed, and contractual career pathway to Delta – no testing or interview required.”
Data from Cirium shows that Endeavor’s shortest flight covers just 66 nautical miles between Minneapolis Saint Paul International Airport and Rochester International Airport while its longest route stretches from LaGuardia Airport to Tulsa International Airport at over 1,231 nautical miles.
The CRJ700 seats up to 69 passengers across three classes while the CRJ900 comes in two configurations seating either up to 70 or up to 76 passengers depending on class distribution. In recent years Endeavor has taken delivery of newer Atmosphere-configured cabins featuring enhanced amenities such as larger overhead bins and modern lighting designs.
In December of last year until October this year alone they received seven new Atmosphere models equipped with user-friendly features making them distinguishable by their registration numbers starting with “NxxPX.”
