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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Delta Air Lines does not publish a single typical salary for its pilots, and no current official average annual income is available. Pilot pay is set as an hourly contract rate that depends on seat (First Officer or Captain), aircraft fleet, and years of service. Any annual figure is an estimate built from an hourly rate and an assumed number of hours, so the useful question is which rate applies to which pilot, and what the annualized numbers do and do not mean.
Why there is no single typical figure
Delta pilots are paid under a collective bargaining agreement negotiated by the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA). The agreement’s pay tables vary by seat, by aircraft group, and by year of service. A “typical” salary would require an average that reflects how many hours each pilot is credited with, which seat they hold, and how long they have been at the airline. Public sources do not publish that average, so any single number presented as typical would be a guess.
Current hourly pay rates
The most recent rate table in these sources is ALPA’s 2026 contract comparison, with rates effective January 1, 2026. The year-one figure comes from a separate 2026 compilation by Rotate Pilot, which is a secondary source.
| Pay group | Seat | Year of service | Hourly rate | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-800 | First Officer | Year 12 | $265.19 | ALPA 2026 contract comparison, effective January 1, 2026 |
| Boeing 737-800 | Captain | Year 12 | $388.27 | ALPA 2026 contract comparison, effective January 1, 2026 |
| B-777, B-787, A-350-900 group | First Officer | Year 12 | $330.44 | ALPA 2026 contract comparison, effective January 1, 2026 |
| B-777, B-787, A-350-900 group | Captain | Year 12 | $483.74 | ALPA 2026 contract comparison, effective January 1, 2026 |
| Aircraft group not specified | First Officer | Year 1 | $125.52 | Rotate Pilot 2026 secondary compilation |
| Not specified | Captain | Year 1 | Not stated | Not stated in the sources reviewed for this article |
The table shows that the same seat can pay very differently depending on fleet group, and that the same fleet group pays more to a Captain than to a First Officer at the same year of service. Year-one rates appear in only one secondary source, and no year-one Captain rate is established, so new-hire comparisons with senior pilots need that limitation in mind.
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What the 1,000-hour examples show
Hourly rates become annual figures only after an assumption about hours. Rotate Pilot multiplies its reported year-one First Officer rate of $125.52 by 1,000 credit hours to reach $125,520. It applies the same assumption to the $483.74 widebody Captain rate to reach $483,740. These are arithmetic examples, not reported incomes or guaranteed pay.
- $125,520: $125.52 × 1,000 credit hours, year-one First Officer, Rotate Pilot 2026.
- $483,740: $483.74 × 1,000 credit hours, widebody Captain at the year-12 rate in ALPA’s 2026 comparison.
- $388,270: $388.27 × 1,000 credit hours, 737-800 Captain at the year-12 rate in ALPA’s 2026 comparison. This is the same arithmetic applied to a figure from the table above, not a separately published number.
The 1,000-hour figure is a round assumption, not a schedule that Delta or ALPA publishes as typical. A pilot credited with more or fewer hours would earn proportionally more or less at the same rate, and the sources do not show how many hours pilots at each seniority level actually receive.
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How pay has changed since 2023
Delta’s pilot hiring FAQ states that pay rates rose 18% on January 1, 2023, followed by scheduled raises of 5%, 4%, and 4% on January 1 of 2024, 2025, and 2026. The Associated Press reported on March 1, 2023 that pilots had ratified a contract providing pay increases of more than 30% over four years. AP reported that 78% of voting pilots supported the agreement and put the Delta pilot group at about 15,000. AP quoted pilot and union official Darren Hartmann: “This industry-leading contract is the direct result of the Delta pilots’ unity and resolve.”
These raises apply to the rate tables, so a pilot’s hourly rate in 2026 reflects the scheduled increases on top of the 2023 change. The sources do not quantify how individual pilots’ pay has moved over time, since that depends on seat, fleet, and seniority.
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What the hourly rate leaves out
Delta’s official pilot careers overview describes total compensation and benefits as including high base pay, profit sharing, and 401(k) contributions. That page does not state a current typical total, a current profit-sharing percentage, or a typical 401(k) contribution.
- Base pay: the contract hourly rate, multiplied by credited hours.
- Profit sharing: described as a component, with no current percentage stated in the sources reviewed.
- 401(k) contributions: described as a component, with no typical amount stated.
An annual salary estimate should not add a bonus or retirement value unless a source states that value for the same seat, fleet, and year.
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Hiring requirements and what they do not tell you
Delta’s current pilot hiring FAQ lists a minimum of 1,500 documented total flight hours. It also states: “A four-year college degree is highly preferred but not a requirement for first officer candidates.” These are entry requirements. They do not show how quickly a pilot moves from First Officer to Captain or what rate a pilot reaches at a given point.
The same FAQ describes career paths outside the flight deck, including recruiting, instructing, and line-check roles. It does not quantify how those roles affect compensation.
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How to compare Delta pilot pay fairly
Before comparing a Delta pilot’s pay with another airline, or comparing two Delta scenarios, hold these variables constant:
- Seat: First Officer or Captain.
- Aircraft or fleet pay group.
- Years of service.
- Effective date of the rate table.
- Credited hours assumed for any annualized figure.
- Whether profit sharing and retirement contributions are included.
A comparison that changes any one of these without saying so will produce a misleading gap.
Contract status after 2026
AirlinePilotCentral lists the Delta Pilot Working Agreement as amendable on December 31, 2026, and says Section 6 negotiations were expected to reopen in early 2026. Its core data was last updated in April 2024. The sources available for this article do not establish whether those negotiations produced changes to the rate tables above, so readers checking pay after 2026 should confirm the current agreement directly with ALPA or Delta.
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