postmarked Tampa, FL August 6, 1985
Delta Air Lines
The wide-bodied Lockheed L-1011 Tristar, a 302-passenger airplane powered by three Rolls-Royce RB211-22B engines, has a cruising speed of over 500 miles per hour and a range of over 2475 statute miles. Three pilots and nine flight attendants make up the TriStar crew.
Dear Mr. Vierday,
We hope you enjoyed your first trip by air. It has been a pleasure to have you aboard Delta for your first flight and we hope to see you on many other Delta flights in the future.
Delta Air Lines
Mr. Darren Vierday
7910 N. Orleans
Tampa, FL 33604
So yes, Delta Airlines sent me this card after my first trip on an airplane. I was 12 years old, and flew up to Nashville, TN to spend a month with my cousins who lived in Lynnville, TN about an hour south. I wore a suit and tie, as I still do when going some place where I need to wear a suit. I had a full meal with real silverware, and sat about three rows in front of the smoking section. I remember looking out the window and feeling simultaneously very small observing my city from the air and very big embarking on what would be the first of many flights in my life.
The house at 7910 N. Orleans still stands. It was built in 1976 by Roy Vierday (my father) and sold in 2002. Since then, it has been remodeled and painted, looking nothing like the house where I packed for my first airline trip.
Ironically, I never flew Delta again. This was not a conscious choice, it just worked out that way. As a coincidence, my mother just flew from Nashville on a Delta flight, so their postcard did inspire some brand loyalty.
