Delta, pilots reach deal with more than 30 percent pay hike

Delta Air Lines reached a deal with union negotiators to increase pay for pilots by more than 30 percent over four years.

The airline company and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) reached an “agreement-in-principle” on Friday that amounts to $7.2 billion in cumulative value over four years, according to an email obtained by CNBC.

The agreement, which has to be voted on by the ALPA, includes an 18 percent pay increase the day a pilot signs a contract, a 5 percent increase a year later and two 4 percent increases in following years.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement in principle for a new pilot contract, one that recognizes the contributions of our pilots to Delta’s success,” the company told CNBC in a statement.

Delta pilots voted to authorize a strike in late October as contract discussions have stretched on since April 2019 and were delayed for two years during the peak of the pandemic.

Union negotiators with companies American Airlines and United Airlines are also in the midst of talks, so the Delta deal could shift things for the entire industry.

A clause in the agreement states that Delta pilots will exceed United and American pilot pay by 1 percent over the four-year course, according to CNBC.