So it was that I was standing with a good friend, who is a senior captain on Delta’s widebodies, admiring his new outside deck, pool, and entertainment area a few weekends ago.
He casually mentioned the six-figure sum he has invested in his house in the past few years, and I replied “You Delta pilots are making off like bandits these days!” He replied with a chuckle, “Yes, we’ve had a few good years.”
A few good years at Delta
Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer, had the following to say:
“2024 was a great year for Delta with our results reflecting differentiation from the industry and increased durability. Our people finished the year strong, delivering industry-leading operational and financial performance. Sharing Delta’s success is core to our culture, and I’m excited to recognize our people's outstanding efforts with $1.4 billion in profit-sharing payments in February 2025.”
On average, this will equate to an additional five weeks of pay for every Delta employee, which is undoubtedly a very welcome bonus. However, given that Delta pilots are already well compensated, it left me wondering: How much does a typical Delta Air Lines pilot earn?
Who sets Delta pilot compensation?
To understand the typical salary for a Delta pilot, we must examine the complex math that goes into determining their compensation.
First, we need to acknowledge that Delta pays its pilots well. It knows that it has a leadership position in the industry, and to keep those record profits rolling in, it knows it needs to attract and retain the best pilot talent.
However, Delta is not the sole arbiter of pilot compensation. Delta pilots have been unionized since 1934 through the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and their compensation is largely governed by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) negotiated between the airline and ALPA. These contracts establish the framework for:
- Base salaries: A guaranteed, fixed component that provides financial predictability. This is determined based on an hourly rate and a guaranteed minimum number of flying hours per month.
- Flight hour pay: A variable element that rewards pilots based on the additional time they spend flying beyond the minimum hours.
- Seniority increases: Provisions that ensure pilots receive incremental pay raises as they accumulate years of service.
- Bonuses and incentives: Bonuses that may include profit sharing or other performance-based rewards.
- Benefits: Beyond cash compensation, pilots receive health insurance, retirement plans, travel privileges, and additional allowances.
The most recent example of a CBA is when Delta’s 15,000 pilots ratified the new Pilot Working Agreement with the carrier in March 2023, which runs through December 2026.
The agreement included a 34% increase in pay raises over the life of the contracts (including an immediate 18% increase on the day it was signed), as well as significant improvements to the quality of life, vacations, and benefits for the pilots,
How is pilot compensation determined?
The process of determining and calculating pilot salaries at Delta is complex and multifaceted.
It involves a combination of fixed and variable components that reward both tenure and performance. These are the inputs that determine the typical salary of a Delta pilot:
The cornerstone: Base Salary
With a set minimum number of hours, the second part of the equation is the hourly rate, and this varies substantially on several factors:
- Rank: The current agreement differentiates between captains and first officers. Depending on experience and the aircraft flown, a Delta captain will earn between $216 and $456 per hour, while a first officer earns between $118 and $311.
- Seniority: As a pilot accumulates more years of experience with Delta, their hourly rate increases as well. A captain will typically see an 8% increase in hourly rate between their 1st and 10th year as captain. A first officer starts from a lower base rate, so sees a more dramatic increase with experience over the same period, from 34% for small narrowbody pilots to 160% for first officers on large widebodies.
- Aircraft type: As indicated above, the type of aircraft flown also has a significant impact on the hourly rate, as evident in the table below:
It’s worth noting that the hourly rate for Delta pilots is based on block hours, so from the time the aircraft leaves the gate to the time that it arrives at the gate of its destination. Pilots also earn an increased hourly rate for international flights and flights that involve an ocean crossing.
Variable compensation via bidding
While pilots have a guaranteed minimum number of hours (and therefore, a ‘base’ salary), they can bid for additional flight hours above that minimum and be compensated at their hourly rate.
Note that there is a limit: The FAA mandates that no pilot can fly more than 32 hours during any seven consecutive days, and no pilot may fly more than 100 hours in a calendar month. So depending on seniority, Delta pilots can bid for up to 35 additional flight hours per month.
Delta pilots bid on flights through a system called ‘Preferential Bidding System (PBS)’ where they submit their desired flight schedules, choosing specific routes, days off, and aircraft types, ranking their preferred flight combinations.
The more senior pilots have the first pick of the best options, and the system allocates them based on their seniority and availability.
Bonuses and performance-based incentives
As mentioned above, the Delta pilots are part of the company’s annual profit-sharing plan, which pays out 10% on profits up to $2.5 billion net revenue and 20% above that level. This bonus is typically paid in mid-February.
The pilots are also part of a performance-based monthly incentive plan that rewards them for exceptional performance in key areas such as on-time performance, baggage handling, and completion factors.
Benefits and retirement packages
What does the typical salary look like?
As you can see, there are a multitude of factors that could determine the eventual annual salary of a Delta pilot, so no two pilots earn the same.
However, based on analysis of the current CBA, the number of hours flown, as well as data from third-party sources such as Glassdoor and Indeed, we can estimate the following:
Based on the guaranteed number of flying hours, the total pay range for Delta first officers is $110,000 to $280,000. Assuming 80 hours of flying per month, an average first officer could expect to have an annual salary per the table below.
|
Years of experience |
Estimated annual pay |
|
Year 1 |
$113,000 |
|
Year 5 |
$219,000 |
|
Year 10 |
$242,000 |
By contrast, captains at Delta can expect a pay range of $290,000 to $370,000, although it is possible to earn considerably more than that depending on the number of flying hours picked up, bonuses, etc. Assuming 80 hours of flying per month, an average captain could expect to have an annual salary per the table below.
Again, we must emphasize that there is a significant amount of potential variability in these numbers. To highlight how much: A first-year captain on a 717 working just the guaranteed hours would earn $235,000, whereas a 12-year captain on an A350 working maximum available hours would earn nearly double that at $550,000.
How does this compare to other US airlines?
Delta’s strong financial position has given it the leverage to lure and retain the top pilot talent, and it has long been regarded as setting the bar for the industry in terms of pilot compensation.
Indeed, after Delta and ALPA agreed on the last CBA in 2023, American Airlines wasted no time in coming out and saying that it would seek to match the deal made at Delta to try and remain competitive.
