Delta Air offers 32 per cent pay rise to pilots amid booming travel demand

The airline reaches an agreement with pilots on the new package

The Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines has promised to ensure that the pay rates of Delta pilots will exceed those of their counterparts at United Airlines and American Airlines. Reuters

Delta Air Lines has offered a 34 per cent cumulative pay increase to its pilots over three years in a new contract, demonstrating the bargaining power aviators are enjoying in a short-staffed industry with booming demand.

The pilots will get a raise of at least 18 per cent on the date the contract is signed, another 5 per cent after one year, 4 per cent after two years and 4 per cent after three years, according to a draft contract seen by Reuters.

Delta pilots will also get a one-time payment equivalent to 22 per cent of their earnings between 2020 and 2022 after the ratification of the deal.

The Atlanta-based carrier has also promised to ensure that pay rates of Delta pilots will exceed those of their counterparts at United Airlines and American Airlines by at least 1 per cent.

In a memo to its members, the union representing Delta pilots said the deal represents more than $7.2 billion of cumulative value increases over the next four years.

Delta said it is "pleased to have reached an agreement in principle for a new pilot contract, one that recognises the contributions of our pilots to Delta’s success".

If the deal is approved by Delta pilots, it is widely expected to act as a benchmark for contract negotiations at United and American.

Delta pilots have been working without a new contract for nearly three years after their old contract became amendable in December 2019, fuelling frustration.

They voted overwhelmingly in October to authorise a strike if negotiators could not reach an agreement on the new contract.