Regional vision: when CEO Leo Mullin took charge at Delta, the US airline had virtually no flights into Latin America. That's all changed

Latin CEO: Executive Strategies for the Americas, May, 2001 by Carlos Frias

With or without the Mexican investment, Mullin has disproved the experts who predicted Atlanta could not compete with Miami as a hub, and that Delta would lose the battle against the other big three.

"Atlanta has proved to be a more powerful Latin American hub than people were willing to give them credit for," says analyst Neidl. "People were doubting that it could compete with Miami, and saying that a fourth carrier wouldn't be successful. But apparently there's room for all of them."