Recently, we’ve seen major airlines in the United States report their financial results for 2025. Among the “big three” carriers, the results are exactly what you’d expect — Delta had the best performance, United was in second place, and American was a distant third.
Related to this, one interesting thing has been seeing how profit sharing differs at these carriers. Following its full-year earnings report, American revealed the details of its employee profit sharing for 2025, and the numbers are leaving employees very frustrated.
In this post:
American employees furious over profit sharing amounts
JonNYC shares American’s profit sharing numbers based on 2025 performance. It would appear that the carrier’s standard profit sharing for 2025 will be 0.3% of eligible pay. So as an example, if an employee had $50,000 in eligible pay, they’d be eligible for a bonus of $150.
For the previous year (2024), American employees received profit sharing equal to 1-1.5% of their eligible pay. So it’s not like they’re used to big profit sharing checks, unlike at Delta. The biggest profit sharing that American employees ever saw was in 2016, when they received 3% profit sharing.
As a point of comparison, at Delta, employees are receiving profit sharing equal to 8.9% of their eligible pay. So assuming that employees at the two airlines are otherwise paid equally, Delta’s profit sharing is roughly 30x as high as American’s.
While Delta employees might be making some major purchases with their profit sharing checks, or might be paying off loads, American employees can maybe go out for a nice dinner.
My gosh, it has to be really demotivating to be an American employee, to put in your best effort, and then to receive a profit sharing check like that. It almost gets into the “why bother” category, which, come and think of, probably also describes American’s profitability.
Maybe American management should have a new pay structure?
While American employees will be cut a profit sharing check ranging from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars (maybe low four figures for senior pilots), American CEO Robert Isom continues to earn eight figures. I haven’t yet seen his numbers for 2025, but Isom earned $15.6 million in 2024, and $31.4 million in 2023.
It’s amazing how American’s board seemingly settles for the direction that Isom’s team is leading the company, given the lackluster performance. And I guess they must be happy with what’s going on, or Isom wouldn’t be rewarded so generously.
Here’s an idea — how about paying American’s top executives purely in the form of profit sharing? Make it a similar formula to what employees get. They get a small percentage of the first $2.5 billion in profits, and a bigger percentage of profits above that. Let’s see how that works out.
So much about the way that publicly traded companies in the US do business just makes little sense to me, in particular the relationship between executives and the board. For how many years can you let someone keep doing the same thing while underperforming, without thinking that it might be better to try a fresh approach?
It’s just a shame that frontline staff are stuck working for a management team that has no vision, where they’re unlikely to see any meaningful profit sharing check at any point in their career.
Bottom line
American has revealed its profit sharing structure based on 2025 financial performance, and employees can expect bonuses of 0.3%. So if someone earns $50,000, they can expect a bonus of $150. Suffice it to say that a 0.3% profit sharing check is a far cry from Delta’s 8.9% profit sharing, which is roughly 30x as much.
Ultimately at American there just aren’t many profits to share, and that’s the fault of the company’s leadership team, which can’t seem to develop a cohesive strategy. American is essentially a high cost version of a low cost carrier, except with a lucrative loyalty program.
What do you make of this American profit sharing mess?
This would make a lot more sense of someone would do an analysis looking at AA's profit-sharing through the lens of, say, Delta. Until then, it's just all too confusing.
"While Delta employees might be making some major purchases with their profit sharing checks, or might be paying off loads..."
I think you meant "loans" here, Ben, or Delta employees have some other burdens I wasn't aware of.
Can’t say I’m surprised. When I go to book travel through my company’s portal American is greyed out and listed as “non preferred carrier, in cases of no other routing” while Delta, United and Southwest are preferred (in that order). Doubt we’re the only ones.
Ben, you questioned why would AA board allow Isom to run the company. Show me 1 example when board has done what's right for the company and shareholders? Having a board to oversee CEOs of public companies is just an illusion. No board fulfils their responsibility.
In this case this was self inflicted by management. Yeah, there are some lousy employees but difficult to determine if their numbers are any different at other airlines.
Pilots are seniority based and would most likely take a cut in pay if not work conditions if they moved to Airline "X." To a lesser extent flight attendants so the "just go work somewhere else" doesn't apply as much in the airline industry for crew.
...In this case this was self inflicted by management. Yeah, there are some lousy employees but difficult to determine if their numbers are any different at other airlines.
Pilots are seniority based and would most likely take a cut in pay if not work conditions if they moved to Airline "X." To a lesser extent flight attendants so the "just go work somewhere else" doesn't apply as much in the airline industry for crew.
Sadly, for all involved it's going to take money to again begin making money which profits will be low, and even losses, for the interim period.
Want Delta profits provide Delta level service. Many great AA employees but equally offset by indifferent staff who are just there for a check. Their product is not that bad - it’s the way the product is presented / delivered by some staff. Delta at least consistently gives the illusion that they care.
boards are overlapping clubs stocked with homies who all reward each other, crony capitalism at its finest
Put in your best effort? Really? Like no PDB's? One drink and to the back galley they go for the rest of the flight? Screaming at customers at the gate or just ignoring them? For the employees that really do a good job, this is sad. For those that don't really care, it's too much.
Should have done what Trump did and pay the Top 10% of cabin crew $10k each, the rest get diddly.
I would assume that the method of calculating bonuses for unionized AA workers would be spelled out in their contract with the airline. Is this not so; is it purely at the discretion of corporate leadership?
My goodness this generation is tone deaf. People will never be happy with any pay structure. This is why people get paid millions to run actual companies and businesses while others make 50k a year.
A company allows you to share in their profit, if they have any. Not happy.
A company gives you a discretionary bonus. Not happy.
A company allows you to work overtime and make 1.5x your pay. Most companies don't even...
My goodness this generation is tone deaf. People will never be happy with any pay structure. This is why people get paid millions to run actual companies and businesses while others make 50k a year.
A company allows you to share in their profit, if they have any. Not happy.
A company gives you a discretionary bonus. Not happy.
A company allows you to work overtime and make 1.5x your pay. Most companies don't even allow overtime because of the 1.5x pay. Not happy.
A company pays you with stock incentives. Oh the stock sucks, it's losing money or I have to pay taxes. Not happy.
Own your own damn company! Work for yourself! Hire you own employees and give them salaries and benefits. Be a contributing member to society.
Pointless and completely irrelevant rant.
The expectation of profit sharing is not in question here — it's that American is a company so mismanged relative to its peers that its employees receive a pittance in profit sharing while others receive weeks or months of pay.
Telling frontline employees to "own your own damn company" as a solution is as stupid and tone deaf as complaining about the generation gap.
American being a poorly ran airline isn't new. Don't like the way it's ran? Leave.
And my point of saying own your own company is because people don't know how incredibly difficult it is to run any company, let alone a multi billion dollar company. So when folks point at executive pay, they forget that most busted their ass and worked their way up. They weren't handed that title.
LOL.......hopefully this pushes some of those overpaid, overweight and overaged flight attendants right out the door.
"Maybe American management should have a new pay structure?"
Doug Parker took all his pay in stock. That was supposed to align his incentives with shareholders. All it did was encourage him to borrow money to fund stock buybacks, timed with his 10b5-1 plan.
I thought Doug Parker took his bonus in cases of Old Grand-Dad.
Management just needs to be fired at this point.
Nobody is "stuck working for a management team that has no vision". They are free to explore other opportunities.
American's profitability would markedly improve if many flight attendants who are unhappy with their jobs found the door.
Like many of my colleagues, I have avoided American for numerous premium flights and will continue to do so until I notice a marked improvement in service from crew.
Nice anti-worker, pro-management viewpoint you got there, Georgie.
I'm pro paying people what they're worth. Just ask my team - I fight for major pay increases for them every year. They generate value, and the cost of replacement for any of them would be burdensome.
That does not apply to flight attendants. American flight attendant training takes six weeks. They could fire the worst 10% every couple of months and, one year later, have 60% fresh crew with better attitudes.
Georgie thinks stew pay is the reason American is so broke.
Bless his wooden head.
Workers, at American Airlines, and elsewhere, should be getting paid more, regardless. This isn't about unions or lackthereof (as I know some will be quick to bash them, sadly). There's no world where CEO Isom deserves $34 million (as in 2023). Even so, he's a mere mercenary compared to the billionaires that exploit our people, our resources, and our futures. Major reforms sorely needed.
Flight attendants are clearly overpaid for their skill level.
Compare US crew salaries to European and Asian carriers, where airlines provide much better service. An American does not do a better job serving meals or pouring drinks than a British, Korean, French, Polish, Taiwanese or Italian would do for 1/3 the cost.
There is no supply constraint for flight attendants as there is with pilots and mechanics. They are overpaid, and if rightsized, the...
Flight attendants are clearly overpaid for their skill level.
Compare US crew salaries to European and Asian carriers, where airlines provide much better service. An American does not do a better job serving meals or pouring drinks than a British, Korean, French, Polish, Taiwanese or Italian would do for 1/3 the cost.
There is no supply constraint for flight attendants as there is with pilots and mechanics. They are overpaid, and if rightsized, the savings can be put into premium improvements.
"Workers, at American Airlines, and elsewhere, should be getting paid more, regardless."
This remains one of the most inane comments you offer. Just add it to the pile.
Mike,
He does this all the time...he's just an attention whore who has now spread like a virus across the travel blogs spewing his broken record BS because he loves the attention it brings him.