Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018 shares
Document and Entity Information [Abstract]
Document type	10-Q
Amendment flag	false
Document period end date	Sep. 30, 2018
Document fiscal year focus	2018
Document fiscal period focus	Q3
Entity registrant name	DELTA AIR LINES INC /DE/
Entity central index key	0000027904
Current fiscal year end date	--12-31
Entity filer category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity emerging growth company	false
Entity small business	false
Entity common stock, shares outstanding	685,618,701