Delta Honors GAT Airline Ground Support As Its Woman-owned Business Of The Year

March 27, 2015
For 16 years, the Star Awards program has honored suppliers and Delta team members who champion supplier diversity.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) recognized the contributions of its top small-business, minority-owned and women-owned supplier partners during the company's annual Supplier Diversity Star Awards event on Wednesday at the Delta Flight Museum in Atlanta.

GAT Airline Ground Support, based in Mobile, Ala., was named Woman-owned Business of the Year.

Beginning as the first FBO in Mobile, GAT has developed into a trusted and recognized name in the airline services industry.

GAT offers a broad portfolio of services at locations throughout the United States. Our mission is to provide high quality, regulatory compliant services to our aviation customers that maximize value and execution while ensuring a safe and productive environment for employees and our customers. This mission is only delivered through the commitment of our employees and industry leading programs to include “pay for production”.

For 16 years, the Star Awards program has honored suppliers and Delta team members who champion supplier diversity.

"This event is a wonderful opportunity to say thanks and celebrate our successful partnerships, which are built on Delta's core values of honesty, integrity and respect," said Greg May, Delta's Senior Vice President – Supply Chain Management. "Supplier diversity is critical to delivering a quality product and exceeding our customers' expectations."

Honorees are nominated and selected by a review committee based on several categories including quality, value creation, innovation, customer service, cost savings and community involvement.

This year's other winners include:

  • Small Business of the Year – PHS/MWA Aviation Services, Temecula, Calif.
  • Minority-owned Business of the Year – Agile•1, Torrance, Calif.
  • Corporate Real Estate Business of the Year – Creative Construction Services Corp., Cambria Heights, N.Y.
  • Catalyst Award – Reginald Williams, CEO of Procurement Resources Inc., Peachtree City, Ga.
  • Team of the Year – Delta Cargo and Ground Support Equipment (GSE)

"The relationships we share with our diverse suppliers are driven by collaborative engagement," said Karmetria Burton, Delta's General Manager – Supply Chain Management Strategic Programs. "Working together, we are able to achieve mutual success."

A video highlighting the event can be viewed at: https://player.piksel.com/p/jf78p274.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 170 million customers each year. Delta was named to FORTUNE magazine's top 50 World's Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the fourth time in five years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for four consecutive years, a first for any airline. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 326 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venturewith Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta,Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.