More Delta passengers getting Porsche lifts

Delta Air Lines is expanding a perk at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport that shuttles some of its highest-paying customers in Porsches to connecting flights.

The program for Delta Diamond Medallion customers has been at Hartsfield-Jackson since 2011. Now it will be expanded to New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis, according to a spokesman for Atlanta-based Porsche Cars North America.

Spokesman Nick Twork said the program has led to increased sales for Porsche, though he would not provide figures.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to expose our vehicles to potential customers,” Twork said. “We provide the cars and they provide the customers.”

Mercedes-Benz has a similar program with United Air Lines at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.

A Delta spokesman said 30 to 40 of the airline’s highest value customers are chosen for the service each day as a surprise. They get a lift in either a Cayenne, which starts around $50,000, or a Panamera, which starts around $80,000. Porsche places information about the vehicles in the cars and in Delta Sky Clubs at the airport.

Twork said the vehicles are rotated out periodically, depending on what Porsche wants to showcase at the time.