Delta people
In the survey conducted by Great Place To Work, 87% of employees who responded said Delta is a great place to work.
Delta First Officer Amanda Vogt’s family history is deeply rooted in farming, crop dusting and aviation, so it's only fitting that the Seattle-based A220 pilot joined Delta in August 2023, nearly 100 years after the airline’s own humble start as a crop-dusting operation.
![Headshot of Delta CEO Ed Bastian](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_wide_horizontal/public/2022-06/ed-bastian-landscape-crop.jpg?itok=geZsBBWK)
As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian leads 100,000 global professionals who are building the world’s premier international airline, powered by a people-driven, customer-focused culture and spirit of innovation.
This week, Delta Air Lines is doing something extraordinary – paying $1.4 billion in profits directly to our employees, a profit-sharing arrangement for frontline workers unmatched in its scope and impact. Every eligible Delta employee will receive a check that, this year, totals more than 10% of their annual salary. It’s something we do every year on Valentine’s Day to demonstrate our gratitude and love for our people, who serve our customers and ensure their safety and comfort every day.
This year’s payment is no anomaly. Over the past 10 years, Delta has shared more than $1 billion in annual profits with our employees seven times. All told, since we began our profit-sharing program in 2007, the company has paid our employees $11 billion. We are unaware of any major company in our country with a comparable level of success sharing.
Rewarding our people is fundamental to Delta’s values-centered business model. But writing well-earned checks isn’t always enough. Recent data indicates more than 50% of Americans don’t have access to $1,000 in savings in case of a financial emergency. That creates an enormous amount of stress and uncertainty for families across our nation. While we can’t solve the problem for everyone, we wanted to help Delta employees achieve a level of financial security by boosting their savings and financial wellness.
That’s why last year, we launched the Emergency Savings Program, in partnership with Operation HOPE and Fidelity Investments. Participating employees can earn $1,000 from Delta to fund a rainy day account, along with individualized coaching and a host of tools from Operation HOPE and Fidelity to enhance their financial literacy and well-being.
The results have been remarkable. Since the start of the program, more than 35,000 Delta employees have begun contributing towards an emergency savings account. Over 21,000 have completed the program, earning a $1,000 safety net contribution from Delta – and 94% of that group have kept money in their accounts, allowing it to accumulate interest until it’s truly needed for an emergency. Most participating employees are actively growing that safety net with their own earnings, on average saving $74 from every paycheck via payroll deduction.
Establishing an emergency savings account has had a significant impact on the lives of participants. Among employees surveyed, those who reported being able to save for goals other than emergencies more than doubled after completing the program. In addition, surveys taken before and after employees completed the program revealed a:
- 62% increase in those who felt they have control of their finances.
- 42% increase in employees who are confident in their ability to cover a $1,000 expense with emergency savings.
- 33% increase in those who felt able to save for retirement.
- 41% increase in those who said they can spend less than they earn.
We recently published a white paper with more detail on Delta’s Emergency Savings Program.
At Delta, our No. 1 job is taking care of our people – our success flows from this simple concept. Sharing profits with our people, along with providing tools and education to help manage and grow their wealth, is part of our responsibility as a values-led organization. All of us at Delta, Operation HOPE and Fidelity hope our efforts can serve as a model for other businesses and organizations that are seeking to better serve all of their stakeholders, including their employees, while helping to solve the serious issue of financial insecurity that faces millions of American families.
Over the course of 2023, Delta activated hundreds of events through our community partnerships that positively impacted people, increased Delta’s brand power and inspired others to keep climbing.
An Atlanta-based mother and daughter duo with nearly 30 years of combined experience at Delta started their own version of a holiday tradition, finding ways to spend holidays together while working.
Among Delta’s 90,000 employees around the world, there are many whose work behind the scenes contribute to Delta’s success. One example is Emma Galarza, a senior engineer with Delta TechOps who works on drone technology that will not only help make aircraft maintenance inspections more efficient but safer for our people.
Since 2007, Delta has rewarded employees with industry-leading profit-sharing payments: more than $9.2 billion since 2010.
The Spirit of Delta takes on new significance as Delta launches a fundraising campaign to ensure the long-term health of its employee assistance fund, known as the Delta Care Fund. The Spirit of Giving campaign sets a goal of raising $30 million for the Care Fund.
For Delta Air Lines customer Jeff Harper, one note made all the difference during one of the most challenging flights he’s ever faced.
![Dr. Henry Ting](/sites/default/files/styles/crop_wide_horizontal/public/2022-09/ting_perspective_headshot.jpg?itok=98tje9Ti)
World-renowned cardiologist Dr. Henry Ting joined Delta Air Lines in 2021 as the global airline’s S.V.P. and Chief Health Officer – a first for a U.S. carrier. Dr. Ting originally came on board as a primary COVID-19 advisor who helped shape Delta’s strategies for the pandemic. His reasons for joining Delta extended well beyond the pandemic to reimagining and transforming well-being for employees and customers. He and his team take a holistic approach to taking care of Delta people by researching and investing in employees’ physical, mental, social and financial well-being.
When I joined Delta Air Lines in 2021, my mission was to care for our people so they can thrive. While managing the pandemic response was paramount to the health and safety of our people and customers, we’ve now shifted our focus to executing a holistic and long-term vision to enhance the wellbeing of our people and customers. As our workforce has changed and become younger and more diverse, our culture of serving and caring for our people has not changed.
I’m humbled the Atlanta Business Chronicle recently recognized some of our achievements on our journey by naming Delta as one of its Healthiest Employers among extra-large companies with at least 5,000 employees.
By enabling our people to thrive, we are connecting the world and changing it for the better. Listening to our people, meeting them where they are, and responding with meaningful action isn’t just a responsibility – it’s core to our DNA. We know that if we take care of our people, they will take care of our customers, partners, and communities. Bringing this vision to fruition is an ongoing task that never truly ends, and we’re just getting started. But by taking cues from our people, we’ve taken steps in the right direction.
In February 2022, we expanded access to mental health treatment from 7 to 12 free counseling sessions per issue, per year for every Delta employee and their household members. On average, adults in the U.S. wait four to six weeks to see a mental health provider. Children have an even longer wait time. Delta employees have their call to our Resources for Living employee program answered within 18 seconds, and they have access to mental health providers within four days.
We know financial health has a ripple effect on wellbeing, too, which is why we offer financial health programs that can equip employees with skills to create a budget, improve their credit and set savings goals. Employees have increased their credit score by hundreds of points and reduced debt working with Operation HOPE.
Our work isn’t done yet. This year, we launched a survey called the Flourishing Index to measure our employees’ physical, emotional, social and financial wellbeing. We also conducted one-on-one interviews to understand challenges and opportunities to improve their health.
Listening to our people will inform our vision for years to come to continue building an ecosystem of resources for our people to enhance healthy living, including in mind, sleep, diet, movement and community. The insights we are gathering will shape the offerings we have in store for our people and help us recalibrate on the work we’ve already done where necessary.
This is not – and cannot be – a top-down strategy. We need the input and advocacy of our people if we truly want to serve them. In addition to the support of the Delta executives who serve on our Wellbeing Council, we have a network of more than 500 employees who serve as Wellbeing Champions. They help communicate about the latest offerings from Delta Wellbeing and help their peers find the right resources.
Our pursuit of a holistic wellbeing strategy is built on a simple concept: If you take care of your employees, they will in turn take care of your customers and communities. Wellbeing is a lifetime journey, and most of us at some point will experience bumps that affect our physical, social, financial and/or emotional health.
As the pandemic showed us, our resilience is not a given. But our never-ending work as a company to build it must be.
Delta agents in Tallahassee, Florida, worked hard to send a couple to South Korea to bring home their adopted son – and make sure a warm welcome awaited him in the U.S.
Delta has been selected by customers as the Skytrax Best Airline in North America for 2021 and was recognized for its health, hygiene and safety protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With an overall score of 860 out of 1,000, the airline was recognized as No. 1 in customer satisfaction among airlines in North America by J.D. Power