Rumor Has It: May 2026
Note: “Rumor Has It” is a biweekly newsletter sent to Delta flight attendants about a range of topics from company policies to questions about flight benefits and what is happening around the industry. Delta occasionally addresses questions in Rumor Has It related to AFA’s organizing efforts. For ease of reference, those questions and answers have been included below.
From May 19, 2026 Edition
RUMOR: I saw a graphic that suggests United’s new contract has better reserve rules.
FACT: This is highly misleading. There has been misinformation circulating about components of United’s new contract that do not tell the full story.
United flight attendants will have 14-hour Reserve Availability Periods (RAPs) (extendable to 19 hours three times per month), during which the reserve will be contactable for assignment. The implementation date of this provision is currently unknown. This is not duty, which means a flight attendant could go straight from the RAP to an assignment. Importantly, United flight attendants will continue to be scheduled for as many as 18 or 19 reserve days per bid month.
Open flying at Delta is covered via A-Days, which was designed by and for flight attendants, is unique in the industry, and results in fewer monthly “reserve days” (0, 3, or 6) than AFA-represented peers at United.
AFA has never negotiated anything like Delta’s A-Day program. At Delta, all flight attendants can bid for trips pre-month, which provides more schedule predictability and earning potential. In fact, many flight attendants come to Delta for our A-Day program because of the impact it has on their overall quality of life.
RUMOR: I heard United’s boarding premium pay is better than ours.
FACT: This is not true. United (and American) matched our boarding premium pay formula. The boarding premium rate is 50% of the hourly flight pay rate applied to the scheduled boarding time. In 2022, Delta was the first airline to introduce boarding premium pay, four full years before United's will be implemented.
From May 7, 2026 Edition
RUMOR: Delta is behind our peers in hourly flight pay even after the raise.
FACT: This is not true. Our new flight pay rates will be mostly in line with or exceed United and American’s rates taking effect later this year (if United flight attendants ratify their agreement). United’s current rates trail Delta’s by 24-28%, depending on the step of the scale.
In the past few years, the industry has seen some uncertainty, as our competitors have negotiated, rejected, and renegotiated agreements. Our hourly flight pay led the industry for a number of years because we chose to invest in our people annually, despite American and United’s pay remaining static while they negotiated. We are now seeing the industry align again, and this process of small increases at our competitors followed by big jumps is normal. For all of our competitors, we are ahead on flight pay rates or within a tight range and lead meaningfully in total compensation.
We cannot lead in every individual pay component all of the time, but our approach of consistent, meaningful investments delivers more for our people over time. In the last five years, we’ve made cumulative investments of 30% in flight attendant compensation, including our industry-first boarding premium pay, which has been copied by American and United and adds an average of 8% in pay each year.
See below how Delta stacks up against American and United on hourly flight pay.
| Hourly Flight Pay | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YOS | DL Hourly As of 6/1/26 |
AA Hourly As of 10/1/26 |
% Difference vs DL |
UA Hourly As of 7/30/26, pending TA ratification |
% Difference vs DL |
| Start | $38.40 | $37.91 | 1.3% | $38.21 | 0.5% |
| After 1 | $40.72 | $40.18 | 1.3% | $40.53 | 0.5% |
| After 2 | $43.32 | $42.76 | 1.3% | $43.12 | 0.5% |
| After 3 | $46.13 | $45.54 | 1.3% | $45.92 | 0.5% |
| After 4 | $50.80 | $50.15 | 1.3% | $50.56 | 0.5% |
| After 5 | $57.52 | $56.80 | 1.3% | $57.26 | 0.5% |
| After 6 | $62.94 | $62.67 | 0.4% | $62.97 | 0.0% |
| After 7 | $64.95 | $64.67 | 0.4% | $64.99 | -0.1% |
| After 8 | $66.74 | $66.47 | 0.4% | $66.80 | -0.1% |
| After 9 | $69.24 | $68.95 | 0.4% | $69.29 | -0.1% |
| After 10 | $71.14 | $70.84 | 0.4% | $71.19 | -0.1% |
| After 11 | $74.55 | $74.21 | 0.5% | $74.58 | 0.0% |
| After 12 | $86.32 | $87.04 | -0.8% | $87.47 | -1.3% |
RUMOR: Delta doesn’t lead the industry in total compensation now, even after the raise.
FACT: This is not true. Delta will lead in total compensation at every step of the scale in 2026 when factoring in our 4% raise and scheduled 2026 pay increases at American and United (May 31 and July 30 at United and October 1 at American). This also includes United’s retro payment for 2026, assuming their tentative agreement is approved.
Assuming an 80 hour/month schedule for 2026, that means:
A new hire Delta flight attendant will make $5,100 more than a peer at United and $4,600 more than a peer at American.
A top-of-scale Delta flight attendant will make $6,200 more than a peer at United and $7,800 more than a peer at American.
In addition to providing highly competitive flight pay, Delta pays out more profit sharing than the rest of the industry combined. There will be no changes to United’s profit sharing formula, which regularly results in smaller payouts vs. Delta. And American has adopted our formula, but its financial performance does not result in the same payouts.
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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.