Ben Mutzabaugh

USA TODAY

Updated June 24, 2014

Is Delta Air Lines "The World's Most Trusted Airline?"

Regardless of fliers' opinions, Delta had hoped it would become the only U.S. carrier legally able to say that.

That's after the Atlanta-based company sought to trademark the slogan, making a formal application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports.

Could it become the carrier's new tagline? It seems unlikely, given that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office denied Delta's initial application. (Hat tip: Wandering Aramean blog)

"Registration is refused because the applied-for mark is a merely descriptive phrase that is laudatory of applicant's services," the office said as part of a through response to the application.

Delta has six months to respond to the office's notification "to avoid abandonment of the applicant's trademark application."

Delta officials declined to comment.

Some of Delta's more recent slogans have included "Keep Climbing" and "We Love to Fly, And It shows."

Stay tuned ...