Delta’s Powerpuff Girls Themed Boeing 737-200

While the Simpsons took to the skies in 1995, it was the Powerpuff Girls’ turn five years later. To the delight of many Cartoon Network fans, Delta’s Powerpuff Girls jet came courtesy of Delta Air Lines’ no-frills offshoot, Delta Express.

So what came of this idea? Here’s the story of the Powerpuff Girls Delta Boeing jet.

Service, Miles, and Everyone Smiles

In the early 1990s, Southwest Airlines gained prominence as a no-frills, economical airline that was winning over customers who couldn’t afford fares from typical airlines. Continental Airlines formed Continental Lite in 1993 to slow Southwest’s momentum, and Delta came up with Delta Express three years later.

Delta Express’ network connected many northeast US cities to tropical Florida destinations such as Orlando, Jacksonville, and Fort Lauderdale. Despite Delta’s headquarters being in Atlanta, A-Town was absent from the list of destinations.

In 1998, Cartoon Network’s latest show, The Powerpuff Girls, debuted. Along with the show came waves of merchandise and promotional items. As Cartoon Network was owned by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), network bigwigs thought they had a hit on their hands and were looking for more ways to promote the show.

Dial ‘A’ for Atlanta

How did Delta and TBS executives come up with this idea? Arguably, the biggest reason was that both are headquartered in Atlanta. The drive between both addresses is less than 30 minutes away, so it made sense for Turner executives to simply take a short trip within downtown Atlanta rather than invest weeks or even months of time into communicating with other airlines from across the country.

Another possible reason was that TBS’s outspoken founder, Ted Turner, was an Atlantan inside and out and often preferred to work with other Atlanta-based businesses — even owning the Atlanta Braves, Hawks, and Thrashers and broadcasting their games nationally.

Delta and Turner ended up designing a Powerpuff Girls livery onto a Delta Express Boeing 737-232. The possible reason a Delta Express jet was chosen instead of a main Delta jet was to simply promote the show to everyday families looking to fly to Florida on a budget.

Delta’s Powerpuff Girls Makeover

The Boeing with registration number N310DA was selected for Delta’s Powerpuff Girls jet. The PPG design only took up the aft of the livery, while the front was white, bearing only the Delta Express logo. These features were likely to save on the costs of repainting the livery. Still, it was a very appealing and clean design.

Though Blossom (pink) was considered the PPG leader, she was relegated to the upper tail of Delta’s Powerpuff Girls jet, likely due to her bow needing more space (similar to Marge on the WestPac aircraft).

Buttercup (green) was featured in front, on the fuselage, while Bubbles (blue) occupied space on the lower tail area. While the Powerpuff Girls logo is missing from the design, the Cartoon Network logo is present.

Passengers received promotional gift bags on the jet, which included a button pin. A model of the PPG jet was also available for sale. During service, the jet operated flights to New York City, Boston, Newark, Chicago, Washington D.C., Tampa, and Fort Lauderdale.

A Hollywood Promotion

With The Powerpuff Girls Movie in theaters on 3 July 2002, Delta Express started to promote the film in late June of that year with updated promotional tie-ins on the N310DA. Despite the movie’s release, however, the appearance of Delta’s Powerpuff Girls jet remained the same.

The original show ended in 2004 after six seasons. A revival premiered in 2016 and lasted for three seasons until 2019. A live-action revival on the CW, titled ‘Powerpuff,’ was in the works in 2021 but was canceled.

Delta Express ceased operations in 2003 as Delta pivoted to launch a new low-cost carrier, Song, aimed at competing with JetBlue’s growing success. As part of the transition, Delta retired the aging Boeing 737-200s that made up the Express fleet. Among them was the iconic Powerpuff Girls jet, which later found a new home with Northern Air Cargo.