Delta Air Lines Management
Management criteria checks 3/4
Delta Air Lines' CEO is Ed Bastian, appointed in May 2016, has a tenure of 9.83 years. total yearly compensation is $27.12M, comprised of 3.7% salary and 96.3% bonuses, including company stock and options. directly owns 0.21% of the company’s shares, worth $87.03M. The average tenure of the management team and the board of directors is 4.9 years and 6.7 years respectively.
Key information
Ed Bastian
Chief executive officer
US$27.1m
Total compensation
| CEO salary percentage | 3.66% |
| CEO tenure | 9.8yrs |
| CEO ownership | 0.2% |
| Management average tenure | 4.9yrs |
| Board average tenure | 6.7yrs |
Recent management updates
Recent updates
Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL): The Premium Powerhouse – Scaling Loyalty and International Dominance in 2026
Delta Air Lines (DAL) is currently the most profitable major carrier in the United States, trading at $65.72 as of the February 27, 2026 close. While the stock faced a sharp 6.8% dip on the final Friday of February due to a massive winter storm in the Northeast and lingering concerns over trade policy, its fundamental narrative remains one of "premiumization." Following a record-breaking fiscal year 2025, where the airline achieved $58.3 billion in revenue and an industry-leading 10% operating margin , Delta is successfully decoupling itself from the traditional "low-cost" airline cycle.Delta Air Lines: Deleveraging, Margin Discipline, And Valuation Upside
Feb 19Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Shares Fly 25% But Investors Aren't Buying For Growth
Dec 18
Delta Air Lines' (NYSE:DAL) Profits May Not Reveal Underlying Issues
Oct 18Is It Time To Consider Buying Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)?
Jul 03Shareholders Will Probably Hold Off On Increasing Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s (NYSE:DAL) CEO Compensation For The Time Being
Jun 12Even With A 35% Surge, Cautious Investors Are Not Rewarding Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s (NYSE:DAL) Performance Completely
May 09Here's Why Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) Has A Meaningful Debt Burden
Apr 23Delta Air Lines Q1 Preview: Cheaper Oil Presents A Strong Tailwind
Apr 08Delta loses shine after warning of falling travel demand, but still industry leader
As written here in February, Delta is the leading carrier among the major US airlines.In terms of profitability, fleet management/modernisation and thus cost effectiveness, and yield management, the gDelta Air Lines: Quality Won't Matter, Downgrading To Neutral
Mar 11Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) Might Not Be As Mispriced As It Looks After Plunging 26%
Mar 11Delta Air Lines Gains As Competitors Struggle
Feb 14Delta Air Lines Stock Flies To New Highs After Earnings
Jan 13Delta Air Lines Q4 Earnings Preview: Holiday Season And CrowdStrike Lawsuit In Focus
Jan 06Delta Air Lines: Examining Smart Money's Activities To Assess Potential Earnings Moves
Dec 30Delta Air Lines: A Top Airline Stock To Buy For 2025
Dec 24CEO Compensation Analysis
| Date | Total Compensation | Salary | Company Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$5b |
| Sep 30 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$5b |
| Jun 30 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Mar 31 2025 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Dec 31 2024 | US$27m | US$991k | US$3b |
| Sep 30 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$5b |
| Jun 30 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Mar 31 2024 | n/a | n/a | US$5b |
| Dec 31 2023 | US$34m | US$950k | US$5b |
| Sep 30 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$3b |
| Jun 30 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$3b |
| Mar 31 2023 | n/a | n/a | US$2b |
| Dec 31 2022 | US$10m | US$950k | US$1b |
| Sep 30 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$81m |
| Jun 30 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$600m |
| Mar 31 2022 | n/a | n/a | US$517m |
| Dec 31 2021 | US$12m | US$950k | US$280m |
| Sep 30 2021 | n/a | n/a | -US$67m |
| Jun 30 2021 | n/a | n/a | -US$7b |
| Mar 31 2021 | n/a | n/a | -US$13b |
| Dec 31 2020 | US$13m | US$238k | -US$12b |
| Sep 30 2020 | n/a | n/a | -US$11b |
| Jun 30 2020 | n/a | n/a | -US$4b |
| Mar 31 2020 | n/a | n/a | US$4b |
| Dec 31 2019 | US$17m | US$946k | US$5b |
Compensation vs Market: Ed's total compensation ($USD27.12M) is above average for companies of similar size in the US market ($USD13.43M).
Compensation vs Earnings: Ed's compensation has been consistent with company performance over the past year.
CEO
Ed Bastian (67 yo)
Mr. Edward H. Bastian, also known as Ed, has been the Chief Executive Officer of Delta Air Lines, Inc. since May 2, 2016. He served as President of Delta Air Lines, Inc. from September 01, 2007 to May 2, 2...
Leadership Team
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO & Director | 9.8yrs | US$27.12m | 0.21% $ 87.0m | |
| Executive VP & CFO | 4.7yrs | US$8.00m | 0.058% $ 24.0m | |
| Strategic Advisor | less than a year | US$12.46m | 0.043% $ 17.9m | |
| Executive VP & Chief External Affairs Officer | 3.3yrs | US$8.96m | 0.065% $ 26.9m | |
| Executive VP | 5.2yrs | US$6.65m | 0.021% $ 8.8m | |
| Executive VP | 2.4yrs | no data | 0.018% $ 7.4m | |
| Senior VP | 6.8yrs | US$2.48m | 0.0011% $ 460.2k | |
| Executive VP & Chief Information Officer | 10.1yrs | US$3.79m | 0.0032% $ 1.3m | |
| Vice President of Investor Relations & Corporate Development | no data | no data | no data | |
| Senior VP of Corporate Safety | less than a year | no data | no data | |
| Senior VP & Chief Communications Officer | 6.8yrs | no data | no data | |
| Executive VP of Global Sales & Distribution | no data | no data | 0.016% $ 6.7m |
Experienced Management: DAL's management team is considered experienced (4.9 years average tenure).
Board Members
| Name | Position | Tenure | Compensation | Ownership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEO & Director | 16.1yrs | US$27.12m | 0.21% $ 87.0m | |
| Executive VP | less than a year | US$6.65m | 0.021% $ 8.8m | |
| Independent Director | 14.3yrs | US$363.30k | 0.013% $ 5.3m | |
| Independent Director | 2.9yrs | US$317.38k | 0.0020% $ 812.7k | |
| Independent Director | 7.9yrs | US$343.04k | 0.0051% $ 2.1m | |
| Independent Director | 11.3yrs | US$340.14k | 0.0056% $ 2.3m | |
| Independent Director | 3.9yrs | US$325.09k | 0.0054% $ 2.2m | |
| Independent Non-Executive Chairman | 6.6yrs | US$533.04k | 0.019% $ 7.8m | |
| Independent Director | 10.7yrs | US$342.87k | 0.0071% $ 2.9m | |
| Independent Director | 3.9yrs | US$342.57k | 0.0029% $ 1.2m | |
| Independent Director | 1.9yrs | US$265.01k | 0.0013% $ 530.7k | |
| Director | 6.8yrs | no data | 0.000050% $ 20.7k |
Experienced Board: DAL's board of directors are considered experienced (6.7 years average tenure).
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2026/03/05 11:28 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2026/03/05 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2025/12/31 |
| Annual Earnings | 2025/12/31 |
Data Sources
The data used in our company analysis is from S&P Global Market Intelligence LLC. The following data is used in our analysis model to generate this report. Data is normalised which can introduce a delay from the source being available.
| Package | Data | Timeframe | Example US Source * |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company Financials | 10 years |
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| Analyst Consensus Estimates | +3 years |
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| Market Prices | 30 years |
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| Ownership | 10 years |
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| Management | 10 years |
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| Key Developments | 10 years |
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* Example for US securities, for non-US equivalent regulatory forms and sources are used.
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more.
Analysis Model and Snowflake
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Industry and Sector Metrics
Our industry and section metrics are calculated every 6 hours by Simply Wall St, details of our process are available on Github.
Analyst Sources
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is covered by 42 analysts. 21 of those analysts submitted the estimates of revenue or earnings used as inputs to our report. Analysts submissions are updated throughout the day.
| Analyst | Institution |
|---|---|
| John Staszak | Argus Research Company |
| Brandon Oglenski | Barclays |
| Garrett Chase | Barclays |