An iconic bird

Growing up in Atlanta, Delta Air Lines was my ticket anywhere I wanted to go. They owned about 80% of the gates at the sprawling Hartsfield International Airport, and there were direct flights to anywhere.

When I was in college, there was a time that I could price flights home to Atlanta from any of four cities (Boston, Providence, Worcester, Manchester) - all of which had daily nonstop Delta flights to ATL.

But I digress. As an aviation enthusiast and a fan of Delta's brand, there was always one thing that made me feel ever-so-slightly cheated. Since the 1970's, Delta has not flown the beautiful, iconic Boeing 747. Something about watching those enormous, graceful aircraft landing at JFK, BOS, IAD, just made all of those seem like more "real" International airports than ATL, despite Atlanta's secure spot atop the list of the world's busiest airports.

Well, consider this injustice remedied. With the Delta-NWA merger, Delta acquired a fleet of 747's in both Passenger and Cargo configurations. As the two airlines combine their operations, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out a remarkable milestone. The first NWA 747 to be repainted in Delta livery will begin scheduled service this week.

Check out the time-lapse video of the paint job:

And for those keeping score at home, keep this in mind: Each new full coat of paint adds about 1,200 lb. to the weight of a 747.