Delta Air Lines jets Dec. 22, 2021 are seen in the taxiway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta.
Elijah Novelage | Reuters
Delta Air Lines, the nation's most profitable airline, said it will raise employee wages by another 5% this year as it prepares for the busy summer travel season.
The wage hike, which will begin on June 1, will apply to workers including flight attendants, ground staff, mechanics and some office workers. That doesn't apply to pilots who last year negotiated a big pay raise after wages stagnated during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Flight Attendants Association-CWA launched a union campaign for Delta's cabin crew in late 2019.
Delta raised employee wages by 5% last year, and the raise announced Monday is the third since 2022 that the Atlanta-based carrier has announced. With the new raises, starting wages for Delta's mainline operations in the U.S. will rise from $16.55 to $19 an hour. .
“With these increases in base pay and starting rates, we continue our commitment to providing Delta people with industry-leading total compensation for performance,” CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees Monday.