Throwback: The Story Of Delta Air Lines’ Royal Service

In the late 1950s, just as the golden age of air travel was about to end, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines introduced a new type of first class: “Royal Class.” Remember that air travel was a rare and exciting privilege reserved for the wealthy back then. Knowing that its first-class customers were used to only the best, Delta Air Lines took inspiration from the Palace of Versailles by offering a class of service that was fit for King Louis XIV and his wife, Austrian Princess Marie Antoinette.