Large salary increases and other incentives in the new contract are approved by Delta pilots.

Delta Airlines and its pilots have reached an agreement on a new contract that will provide a 34% increase in pay raises over the next four years for the airline’s 15,000 pilots. This deal, which will cost Delta approximately $7 billion, also includes policy changes aimed at improving pilots’ quality of life, vacations, and other benefits.

Darren Hartmann, who chairs the Delta Master Executive Council and is a pilot and union official, said in a release that “This industry-leading contract is the direct result of the Delta pilots’ unity and resolve.” Despite a two-year delay in negotiations due to COVID, the pilots never lost sight of their goal to obtain significant across-the-board enhancements to their pilot working agreement.

Delta pilots had picketed in the spring and summer of 2022 to raise awareness of their negotiations with corporate leadership. In October 2022, 99% of the pilots represented by the company’s union, Air Line Pilots Association, International, voted to authorize a strike, if necessary. According to the union, 78% of the Delta pilots who voted on the contract were in favor of its approval.

John Laughter, Delta’s chief of operations, said the new contract “recognizes our pilots’ contributions to Delta” and aims to keep Delta as a top destination for workers in the aviation industry.

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