Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Delta Airlines raises employee pay by 5%, the second time its lifted staff has paid in less than a year, as a sharp rebound in travel boosts the carrier’s profits and the U.S. labor market remains tight.
Delta raised employee pay by 4% in May, the first increases since before the pandemic.
“Given the magnitude of the losses we have incurred during the pandemic, including a loss of $1 billion in the first quarter of last year, this is truly a remarkable achievement,” CEO Ed wrote on Tuesday. Bastian in a staff note. “I’m confident that in the months and years to come, our high performance culture will take us to new heights, and the payout pool will continue to grow.”
Delta said the new increases will take effect April 1 and apply to ground workers and flight attendants. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA launched a campaign to organize Delta cabin crew members in late 2019.
The pay increases do not apply to Delta pilots, who are voting on a new contract proposal that includes 34% increases over four years. If ratified, the pilots would get increases of 18% on the date of signing.
Delta posted a profit of $1.32 billion last year, recovering from a record loss of more than $12 billion in 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
Atlanta-based Delta also plans to pay its staff more than $550 million in shared profits later this month, Bastian said Tuesday.
