One of Delta Air Lines' various special liveries is known as the 'Pink Plane,' as it commemorates the Atlanta-based SkyTeam founding member's partnership with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF). While it has been used for special services, like Delta's annual Breast Cancer Survivor Flight, it spends most of its time flying normal long-haul routes. But where exactly? Let's take a look and find out.

A brief bit of background

Let's start by establishing the nature of the aircraft in question. The US legacy carrier's current 'Pink Plane' is a Boeing 767-400ER which bears the registration N845MH. Data from ATDB.aero shows that this twinjet is more than 20 years old, having first flown on April 4th, 2002. It was delivered to Delta Air Lines 11 days later.

N845MH hasn't always had a special livery. Indeed, the Delta Flight Museum reports that it first received a pink paint job in June 2010, supporting the breast cancer awareness group 'Force For Global Good.' This striking scheme was present for more than five years, before the 767 was eventually subject to a repaint in 2015.

September that year saw it receive a new livery, while retaining its 'Pink Plane' status. This paint job is a visual indicator of Delta's partnership with the BCRF, which has been ongoing since 2005. According to the charity's website, this partnership has raised almost $20 million, funding almost 400,000 hours of research.

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Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 Breast Cancer Livery
N845MH's old 'Pink Plane' livery was in place for more than half a decade. Photo: Mark Harkin via Flickr

Where does it fly?

So, with this in mind, where are you most likely to see N845MH on your travels? According to data generated one week ago at the time of writing by RadarBox.com, the aircraft appears to be based between Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and New York JFK. Indeed, it has had 350 (27%) and 265 (20.5%) flights to these hubs respectively, within the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, the pink plane's most frequently served non-US destination is London Heathrow Airport (LHR), whose 146 flights in the last year (11.3% of N845MH's total activity) see it rank third. This puts its just ahead of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which has seen 140 (10.8%) flights involving N845MH.

After LAX, there is a significant drop-off, with the next-highest airport being fifth-placed Las Vegas Harry Reid International (LAS) on 60 flights (4.6%). Rounding out the top 10, we have three international destinations, and two that are within the US. In descending order, these are Madrid Barajas (40), San Diego International (39), Nice Côte d'Azur (28), Buenos Aires Ezeiza (25), and Seattle Tacoma (24).

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Delta Air Lines Boeing 767 BCRF Livery
Photo: Delta Air Lines

Other usage data

In terms of a more general look at the aircraft's usage, data from RadarBox shows that N845MH has flown 3,915 hours across 647 flights in the last year. This gives it an average distance and duration of 2,660 NM (4,926 km) and 6.1 hours respectively. In terms of daily usage, this amounts to an average of 12.1 hours per day.

These figures put it just below its lifetime annual averages, as detailed by ch-aviation.com. Indeed, the site reports that, over its two decades of flying, N845MH has averaged 4,035 hours across 687 flights per year. That being said, it is exceeding its lifetime average daily utilization (11 hours and three minutes) at the moment.

Did you know about Delta Air Lines' BCRF-liveried Boeing 767? Perhaps you've even flown on it yourself? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

Sources: ATDB.aero, BCRF, ch-aviation.com, Delta Flight Museum, RadarBox.com

  • Delta A350
    Delta Air Lines
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    DL/DAL
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Boston Logan International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, New York JFK Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Salt Lake City International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1929
    Alliance:
    SkyTeam
    CEO:
    Ed Bastian
    Country:
    United States
  • 787-8 Dreamliner
    Boeing
    Stock Code:
    BA
    Date Founded:
    1916-07-15
    CEO:
    Dave Calhoun
    Headquarters Location:
    Chicago, USA
    Key Product Lines:
    Boeing 737, Boeing 747, Boeing 757, Boeing 767, Boeing 777, Boeing 787
    Business Type:
    Planemaker