Delta Hands out Profit-Sharing Checks to Employees

Now that’s a Happy Valentine’s Day gift.

Delta Air Lines officials, including CEO Ed Bastian, made the rounds on Monday to personally greet workers on Employee Appreciation. And they came bearing presents.

Delta announced it would be giving every employee a special profit-sharing payment as part of its 2021 earnings. The airline said it was the only major U.S. airline that will report a profit for the second half of 2021.

“We’re doing it because we will always – always – choose to share the success of the company with the people who make it all possible,” Bastian said in a statement.

Last month, Bastian announced that 20% of the company’s second-half profit totaling more than $100 million would go to employees. Workers found out they would receive a check for $1,250 for being a full-time employee for all of 2021, and $625 for those who joined the carrier mid-year or later.

Delta reported that it lost $408 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, but still had a pretax profit for the last two quarters of the year. Bastian did say that, due to increased costs not including fuel, he expects the airline to also take a loss in the first quarter of 2022.