Delta Air Lines filed the largest airline Ch.11 in 2005 — and fended off a hostile bid

Delta Air Lines traces its roots to 1925, when Huff Daland Dusters was founded in Macon, Georgia, as the world's first crop-dusting company. It was reorganized as Delta Air Service in 1928 and began passenger service in 1929. By the 2000s, Delta was the third-largest US airline, with a hub network centered on Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, and New York's JFK and LaGuardia airports.

Delta filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 14 September 2005, listing $28 billion in total debt and $21.5 billion in assets. The primary causes were soaring fuel costs — jet fuel had doubled in price — and the crushing weight of Delta's pension obligations, which were among the largest in the airline industry. The airline had lost $3.8 billion in 2005 on $16.4 billion in revenue, and continued losing heavily through 2006 ($6.2 billion loss on $17.5 billion revenue).

While in bankruptcy, Delta faced a hostile takeover attempt by US Airways, which offered roughly $8.5 billion in stock. The Delta board and management rejected the bid, arguing that an independent Delta emerging from bankruptcy would be worth more. The rejection was controversial — US Airways went directly to Delta's creditors — but in January 2007, Delta won court approval to reject the bid. The same month, Delta announced it would emerge from bankruptcy as an independent airline on 30 April 2007.

Delta emerged from Chapter 11 on 30 April 2007, after 19 months. The restructuring eliminated roughly $20 billion in debt and pension obligations, cut 6,000 jobs, and reduced the fleet from 849 to 600 aircraft. Delta's stock began trading on the NYSE again on 3 May 2007. Later that year, Delta merged with Northwest Airlines in a $3.6 billion deal, creating the world's largest airline at the time.