Following the 2024 Paris Olympic Games closing ceremony, Delta Air Lines carried the Olympic Flag from Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on its official custom ‘LA28’ Olympic Flag Flight.
The flight officially signifies the Olympic Games’ return to the US in 2028, the first time the games have been hosted in the country since the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The A350-900 sporting the new ‘LA28’ livery touched down in LAX on August 13, 2024.
“Delta and LA28’s partnership is built around our shared values of connecting the world – and nothing brings the world together like the Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Alicia Tillman, Delta’s Chief Marketing Officer in a statement.
“Alongside LA28, we are committed to investing in LA28 and the future of Los Angeles as we set out to work together to bring the Games to life in the biggest and best way possible,” Tillman added.
The livery was designed in-house by the airline’s creative agency, Window Seat, and features a blend of Delta blue, Delta red and Olympic gold to create a sunset-like color gradient that fades into a starry impression.
The Los Angeles-inspired aircraft also displays three palm trees, emblematic of the years that LA has hosted the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games: 1932, 1984 and now 2028.
Only two other cities have hosted three Olympic games: Paris and London.
After the Olympic Flag Flight, the aircraft resumed regular services for Delta passengers.