Delta to raise employee pay for fourth consecutive year

Following a $1.4 billion profit sharing bonus to Delta employees worldwide, Delta is once again investing in our employees with a 4% pay raise – the fourth consecutive increase since 2022.   

Bastian initially announced a pay increase for employees in January 2025 during a leadership conference when strong demand for travel had positioned Delta for our best financial year in history.  

“For a century, Delta has acted on the belief that when we invest in our people first, they deliver excellence for our customers,” said Bastian. “Combined with the strength and resiliency of our business, these core values will continue to set Delta apart even as we face new pressures.” 

With this pay raise, Delta continues to lead our global competitors in providing the highest total compensation to frontline employees for top performance. Including this raise, Delta has made cumulative investments of 25% or more in compensation in each of our largest frontline workgroups since 2022. 

Delta’s compensation philosophy is rooted in the company’s core value of sharing our success with employees. The profit sharing program is a key element of this commitment, with Delta sharing more profit with employees than any other U.S. airline or company. In the last 10 years alone, Delta has paid out over $10 billion in profit sharing to employees. Employees took home an average five weeks in extra pay in this year’s payout on Valentine’s Day. 

Delta is committed to the financial wellness of our people. In addition to profit sharing, Delta provides competitive base pay with typically annual pay increases, pays up to $100 monthly for achieving operational goals, offers free financial coaching with the ability to earn $1,000 for emergency savings, matches up to 6% plus an automatic 3% to 401(k) retirement savings, and more.     

Delta is consistently recognized for excellence as an employer, most recently ranking No. 15 on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list, which is selected by workplace culture experts at Great Place To Work every year. 

Delta was also named the No. 1 airline to the Just 100 list by JUST Capital and CNBC, which measures and ranks companies on the issues Americans care about most, such as paying fair, living wages and supporting worker well-being.