Delta kicked off its new private jet upgrade service for Delta SkyMiles Medallion members last week, flying a couple from Cincinnati to Atlanta in a Falcon 2000. The couple, Bruce and Jeannette Rogovin, were originally set to fly on a Delta commercial flight from Cincinnati to Atlanta when they received an email the night before their July 31 flight offering the upgrade to a private jet.  The airline’s Delta Private Jets operation transported the couple aboard the 10-passenger Falcon 2000, furnishing a flight attendant and offering complimentary champagne and lunch Delta Private Jets president Erik Snell and David Sneed, executive v-p and COO, accompanied the couple on the inaugural flight of the new upgrade program.

Last month the airline announced the new program for its SkyMiles Medallion members. Customers traveling on a first-class ticket receive emails with offers for the upgrade for an additional per-leg fee that is estimated to range between $300 and $800, depending on designation. Emails offering the upgrade are sent between 24 and 48 hours in advance of the scheduled mainline flight. The flight offers will be based on matching empty legs on Delta Private Jets operations. While Delta Private Jets is the operator, the booking process is handled by Delta Vacations on behalf of Delta. Initial flights are expected to be concentrated at Delta Air Lines hubs in Atlanta, New York and Cincinnati, but will expand over time. Delta Private Jets secured U.S. Department of Transportation approval to operate the service on 160 routes Tuesday through Friday. “Delta Private Jets is proud to operate this innovative program offered by Delta Vacations and Delta Air Lines,” Sneed said. “As the only Part 135 operator [offering non-scheduled charter flights] in the U.S. owned by a major airline, we are uniquely able to operate such a program,” he added. Delta Private Jets executives look at the service as a "great opportunity to raise their brand awareness," a spokeswoman said.