AFA suggests you need a union to secure good profit sharing, but Delta has shared far more than any carrier AFA represents.
Delta’s track record of sharing our success – and investing in you – is unmatched. Compared to your peers at other airlines including American and United, you consistently come out on top when it comes to profit sharing, Shared Rewards, and more.
Yet, AFA claims that Delta flight attendants need AFA to “lock in” profit sharing even though AFA has not “locked in” Delta-level profit sharing at the airlines it represents, including United.
The facts speak for themselves:
- When you look at overall payouts, Delta beats American and United both in profitability and in the percentage* we share with our people: we paid more than $6.6 billion in profit sharing in the five years leading up to the pandemic (23% of reported profit for the same period) – where United only paid $2.5 billion (13%), and American paid $0.9 billion (4%).
*Percentage of profit is total profit sharing expense from 2015 to 2019 as a percentage of pre-tax income disclosed publicly for the same period.
- When you look at payout percentages, Delta also pays more* than American or United:
2015: Delta paid out 21.46% of eligible earnings to employees compared to American (0%) and United (13%)
2016: Delta paid out 10.30% compared to American (3%) and United (7.88%)
2017: Delta paid out 10.10% compared to American (2%) and United (4.80%)
2018: Delta paid out 14.03% compared to American (1.4%) and United (4.61%)
2019: Delta paid out 16.71% compared to American (1.4%) and United (6.93%)
*Payout percentages for United vary by workgroup; percentages shown are for flight attendants
- In 2022, we issued a special profit sharing payment in recognition of a return to profitability in the second half of 2021 ($1,250 for employees who worked for more than half of the year), and kept our Shared Rewards program intact while American and United suspended theirs. During the period that Delta has been the only airline paying operational incentives (April 2020 to December 2022), Delta employees earned $2,250 in Shared Rewards.
We are looking forward to an announcement this Friday about profit sharing for 2022 – the first year we have returned to full year profitability since 2019. After the challenges we have faced the past few years, this marks continued progress toward restoring our financial foundation. During the pandemic, we worked hard to protect our people and avoid having to furlough anyone, unlike many AFA-represented carriers. After losing over $15 billion in 2020 and 2021 combined, we are still working to repay the debt we incurred.
We have a long-standing commitment to profit sharing at Delta. When the company does well, so do our people. In the ten years prior to COVID, our average profit sharing payout was 11.5% of eligible earnings. Profit sharing is core to how we share our success that Delta people make possible. Most importantly, our direct relationship allows us to quickly implement other investments in our people, some of which are industry-firsts, like boarding premium pay.
The truth is that your direct relationship is a stronger, faster, and more effective way to drive improvements than AFA representation.
AFA claims are not only misleading but flat-out wrong. Don’t Risk It. Don’t Sign It.
Related AFA vs. Reality Articles
JULY 27, 2022
"The very first thing airlines should do is invest in their workforce”
This is true – and we agree. It’s why we’ve consistently invested in pay increases, scaling up staffing and making our operation more resilient.
JULY 14, 2022
In 2021, Delta CEO made more while flight attendants made less
This is false. For flight attendants, Delta has a long proven track record of leading the industry in total compensation at every step of the pay scale.
MAY 12, 2022
Flight attendants received a pay raise in May 2022 because of AFA
This is false. This pay raise was part of Delta’s ongoing commitment to providing industry-leading total compensation, including best-in-class hourly flight pay.
Stay in the know.
Text DELTA to +1 205 846 8096 for updates*
*By texting the keyword above, you are agreeing to receive periodic SMS text messages from Delta Air Lines regarding One Future. One Delta. Standard messaging and data rates may apply. You may unsubscribe any time by texting “STOP” and the keyword above to +1 205 846 8096. Full Terms.
Stay in the know.
Text DELTA to +1 205 846 8096 for updates*
*By texting the keyword above, you are agreeing to receive periodic SMS text messages from Delta Air Lines regarding One Future. One Delta. Standard messaging and data rates may apply. You may unsubscribe any time by texting “STOP” and the keyword above to +1 205 846 8096. Full Terms.