As much as we might rag on Delta for its SkyMiles program and largely outdated fleet, you’ve gotta give the airline credit for how much it rewards employees for their shared success. With the airline having just announced its full year 2025 financial results, we’ve also learned the details of the annual profit sharing for employees.
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Delta employees get 8.9% profit sharing for 2025
Since 2007, Delta has had the most consistently generous profit sharing program in the airline industry. On Valentine’s Day (which Delta calls Profit Sharing Day) every year, employees get their profit sharing check, reflecting the carrier’s results for the year.
For 2025, Delta employees have been rewarded with 8.9% of their eligible earnings, representing roughly four weeks worth of pay. For some frontline employees, this might amount to a few thousand dollars, while for some pilots, it might amount to tens of thousands of dollars.
With this latest profit sharing payment, Delta’s profit sharing scheme since 2007 has paid out over $13 billion. In most years, Delta’s profit sharing is greater than the pool of all other US airlines combined. Over the past 11 years, the airline has shared over $1 billion in profits annually eight times.
This is no small chunk of change — Delta’s total profits for 2025 were around $5 billion, so this year’s payment is equal to roughly 30% of the profits. For what it’s worth, 2025’s profit sharing is a bit lower than in the previous year.
In 2024, employees received profit sharing equal to roughly 10% of their pay, or around five weeks worth of pay. This reflects that Delta didn’t quite have a record year in terms of profitability, due to all the uncertainty.
As you’d expect, this profit sharing has some significant implications for the economies with the most Delta employees, as hundreds of millions of dollars will be distributed in Georgia, and significant amounts will also be distributed in New York, Michigan, California, Washington, Utah, and beyond.
While this profit sharing is better than you’ll find at other US airlines, it’s worth noting some pretty incredible profit sharing we’ve seen at foreign carriers in recent times. Based on 2024 profits, we saw Singapore Airlines reward employees with a 32-week salary bonus, and we saw Emirates reward employees with a 22-week salary bonus.
This profit sharing is part of Delta’s recipe for success
Delta has long had a superior corporate culture to American and United, and the profit sharing scheme has been a large part of that success. Employees are a lot more invested in the success of the airline than at other carriers.
Now, I do think Delta has lost some of its edge when it comes to service since the start of the pandemic, given the percent of Delta’s workforce that’s new. But still, the airline is a cut above the rest when it comes to taking care of and showing appreciation for customers.
Delta’s generous profit sharing scheme tends to ruffle some feathers among employees at other airlines. For example, in 2024, American employees received just 1-1.5% profit sharing, which left many people frustrated. Then again, American doesn’t have many profits to share, so… 😉
Delta’s motives for its profit sharing arrangement also go beyond just having a good corporate culture. The airline has the highest percentage of non-unionized employees of any major airline in the US, with flight attendants not being unionized.
So the airline not only proactively gives flight attendants raises, but also has generous profit sharing to create an overall rewarding compensation structure for employees. While unions can also try to negotiate profit sharing, it’s hard to imagine employees will come out ahead at other carriers compared to Delta.
Bottom line
Delta employees will be receiving $1.3 billion in profit sharing for 2025, equal to roughly 8.9% of their eligible annual pay, or around five weeks of pay. Delta is in a league of its own on that front, as the airline pays more in profit sharing than all other US airlines. While I have many criticisms of Delta, the carrier’s relationship with its employees isn’t among them, and it’s something the company deserves credit for.
What do you make of Delta’s profit sharing scheme?
super interesting. they must be terrified of a union forming if this is what they are proactively paying out. obviously companies dont just do charity out of the goodness of their hearts, so they must have calculated that a union forming would cost them more!
Ben. Overall, a very good and informative article which is why I still click on your blog unlike some others these days - did I say VFTW and PYOK? But, for God sake, would it kill you for JUST ONCE not wrag on the 767s, Skymiles and the post-pandemic newbies. Those gas guzzlers who everybody bitches about in D1 are flying full Transcon runs with its popular 7-abreast configurations in the back - vs. UAs...
Ben. Overall, a very good and informative article which is why I still click on your blog unlike some others these days - did I say VFTW and PYOK? But, for God sake, would it kill you for JUST ONCE not wrag on the 767s, Skymiles and the post-pandemic newbies. Those gas guzzlers who everybody bitches about in D1 are flying full Transcon runs with its popular 7-abreast configurations in the back - vs. UAs high density 777s and the plane du jour on AA. Skymiles is what it is ... people just need to deal with it or buy their upgrades or free tickets. And, everybody lost a lot of good, senior and experienced employees during the pandemic. AA and UA or no different ... it's all relative and not unique to Delta. So, yes, good article but for once, could you please park your biases against Delta the door.
Quick, someone tell Sara Nelson that this should make the flight attendants ripe for unionizing.
Studies have shown that pay will only make most employees temporarily happy and will only play a minor part in retention. Profit share could be 16% consistently year after year and effort would still subside and employee satisfaction would still have a slow race to the bottom.
and yet DAL has consistently led the industry in not just operational and service levels but also employee satisfaction - probably because profit sharing is so consistent at DL.
Car, boat, and remodeling sales will jump, once again, after Valentines Day wherever a bunch of DL employees live.
DL also noted it continues to have a revenue premium to the industry - 115% now - and they also, according to private data, led all US airlines in operational performance in 2025.
DL also is separating out its MRO (Delta Tech Ops) financials for 2026 and added detail for 2025 because, as I noted, DL...
Car, boat, and remodeling sales will jump, once again, after Valentines Day wherever a bunch of DL employees live.
DL also noted it continues to have a revenue premium to the industry - 115% now - and they also, according to private data, led all US airlines in operational performance in 2025.
DL also is separating out its MRO (Delta Tech Ops) financials for 2026 and added detail for 2025 because, as I noted, DL will make a growing amount of its profits from MRO activity and which will be unique among US airlines.
and the refinery still contributed a benefit to the airline of 11 cents/gallon on top of the industry-leading Amex relationship - which will also be separated out for better clarity for investors.
DL employees are delivering the best service, getting the best revenue, and the company has the best portfolio of non-transportation revenue and cost reduction strategies which is why other airlines cannot duplicate DL's profit sharing.
I'd love more updated insights when it comes to this. I feel like you sort of repeat the same thing every time.
In particular, I remember reading the same line about Delta standards dropping post pandemic multiple times over the years.
Maybe just not that much has changed though I suppose.
Pay your people well and let them enjoy some of the fruits of their labor and most people will bust their ass. But instead we get DEI, corporate CEO speak, and nonsense games like virtual happy hour in which you bring your own booze. Just give me the money.