Short answer
Delta Air Lines had approximately 103,000 full-time equivalent employees as of December 31, 2025, about 100,000 of them based in the US, according to its Form 10-K filed February 11, 2026. About 20% are represented by unions. The figure has been about 103,000 at each year-end since 2023, up from about 74,000 at the end of 2020, when about 18,000 employees left through voluntary separation programs.
- About 103,000 full-time equivalent employees at December 31, 2025; about 100,000 are based in the US.
- The count is in full-time equivalents, so the number of people is higher; Delta also describes "more than 100,000 employees".
- Headcount fell to about 74,000 in 2020, then Delta hired about 11,000 in 2021 and 25,000 in 2022.
- Only about 20% of employees are union-represented; Delta pilots (17,260) are the largest group.
- Operating revenue per employee was about $615,000 in 2025 (our calculation).
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing Delta as an account, aviation analysts, and anyone who needs a citable headcount for Delta Air Lines. Every figure comes from Delta's annual reports on Form 10-K, which give the workforce in full-time equivalents at December 31 each year.
Delta employees by year
| Year | As of | Full-time equivalent employees | Based in the US | Union-represented | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | about 103,000 | about 100,000 | about 20% | 10-K filed February 11, 2026 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | about 103,000 | about 100,000 | about 20% | 10-K filed February 11, 2025 |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | about 103,000 | about 100,000 | about 20% | 10-K filed February 12, 2024 |
| 2022 | December 31, 2022 | about 95,000 | about 93,000 | about 20% | 10-K filed February 10, 2023 |
| 2021 | December 31, 2021 | about 83,000 | about 81,000 | 20% | 10-K filed February 11, 2022 |
| 2020 | December 31, 2020 | about 74,000 | about 72,000 | 23% | 10-K filed February 12, 2021 |
| 2019 | December 31, 2019 | about 91,000 | not stated | about 19% | 10-K filed February 13, 2020 |
| 2018 | December 31, 2018 | about 89,000 | not stated | about 19% | 10-K filed February 15, 2019 |
Delta rounds to the nearest thousand. The flat 103,000 from 2023 to 2025 means no change big enough to move the rounded figure, not an identical workforce.
What the number includes
The 2025 10-K says: "As of December 31, 2025, we had approximately 103,000 full-time employee equivalents, of which approximately 100,000 were based in the U.S."
- It's full-time equivalents, not people. Two half-time employees count as one. Delta elsewhere refers to "our more than 100,000 employees", and the number of individuals is higher than 103,000 by however many part-time staff it has; the 10-K doesn't say how many.
- It includes Endeavor Air, Delta's wholly owned regional airline, whose pilots and flight attendants appear in Delta's union table, and Monroe, its refinery subsidiary.
- It doesn't include its other regional partners. Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines fly regional flights under Delta's "DL" code under contract; they're separate companies, so their staff aren't in Delta's count.
- About 3,000 are based outside the US (our subtraction: 103,000 minus 100,000).
Who is union-represented
| Group | Approximate employees represented | Union | Contract amendable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta pilots | 17,260 | ALPA | December 31, 2026 |
| Delta flight superintendents (dispatchers) | 530 | PAFCA | August 1, 2030 |
| Endeavor pilots | 1,770 | ALPA | January 1, 2029 |
| Endeavor flight attendants | 1,910 | AFA | March 31, 2027 |
| Monroe refinery employees | about 200 | United Steel Workers | Agreement expiring February 28, 2026 |
As of December 31, 2025, from the 2025 10-K. Some employees outside the US are represented by unions or works councils.
What changed and why
- 2020: down to about 74,000. Delta's 2020 10-K says it avoided involuntary furloughs of US employees: about 18,000 employees took early retirement or voluntary separation in the September 2020 quarter, "reducing our workforce by approximately 20%", and about 50,000 took voluntary unpaid leave at some point during the year.
- 2021: about 83,000. Delta "hired approximately 11,000 new full-time employees across our business, including pilots, flight attendants, and gate and reservation agents," and recalled about 1,700 pilots from inactive status.
- 2022: about 95,000. It "hired approximately 25,000 new full-time employees," in flight operations, in-flight service, reservations and customer care, TechOps and airport customer service.
- 2023: about 103,000. The 10-K says Delta had "approximately 8,000 more employees" than a year earlier, "principally in in-flight service, flight operations and aircraft maintenance."
- 2024 and 2025: steady at about 103,000. The 2025 10-K reports no workforce reduction, and says Delta will pay $1.3 billion in profit sharing in February 2026 for 2025.
Revenue per employee
Delta's total operating revenue was $63,364 million in 2025. Divided by about 103,000 full-time equivalents, that's about $615,000 per employee (our calculation). Operating revenue includes third-party sales from the Monroe refinery, so the airline-only figure is a little lower.
| Year | Operating revenue | Full-time equivalents | Revenue per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $63.4 billion | about 103,000 | about $615,000 |
| 2024 | $61.6 billion | about 103,000 | about $598,000 |
| 2023 | $58.0 billion | about 103,000 | about $564,000 |
| 2022 | $50.6 billion | about 95,000 | about $532,000 |
| 2021 | $29.9 billion | about 83,000 | about $360,000 |
| 2020 | $17.1 billion | about 74,000 | about $231,000 |
| 2019 | $47.0 billion | about 91,000 | about $517,000 |
Revenue per employee passed its 2019 level in 2022 and has risen every year since, as revenue grew and the headcount stayed flat.
Selling to a company of Delta's size
General guidance, not a description of Delta's internal process.
- Operations dominates the workforce and the budget. Flight operations, in-flight service, airport customer service, maintenance (TechOps) and reservations account for most of the hiring the 10-K describes. Tools for these groups are judged per station, per aircraft or per shift.
- Safety and regulation shape every purchase that touches the operation. Expect long qualification, documentation and testing before a pilot.
- Corporate functions buy like any large enterprise: finance, technology, people and procurement teams with formal reviews.
- The workforce is stable, so the pitch has changed. After three flat years, efficiency, retention and training are likelier budget lines than mass hiring.
For your research, see how to research an account. To compare airlines' workforces, see Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines.
Next step: see Delta alongside every other big US carrier on our list of the largest airlines.
Sources
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 11 February 2026
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 11 February 2025
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 12 February 2024
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 10 February 2023
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 11 February 2022
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 12 February 2021
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 13 February 2020
- Delta Air Lines Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, Delta Air Lines, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 15 February 2019
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many employees does Delta have in the US?
About 100,000 of its approximately 103,000 full-time equivalent employees were based in the US as of December 31, 2025, according to Delta's 2025 10-K. That leaves about 3,000 based in other countries. The US figure has been about 100,000 at each year-end since 2023, up from about 72,000 at the end of 2020.
How many pilots does Delta have?
Delta's 2025 10-K lists about 17,260 Delta pilots represented by ALPA as of December 31, 2025, plus about 1,770 pilots at Endeavor Air, its wholly owned regional airline. That's up from 12,940 Delta pilots at the end of 2020. The Delta pilots' contract becomes amendable on December 31, 2026.
How many flight attendants does Delta have?
Delta's 10-K doesn't give a count of its own flight attendants, because it lists only union-represented groups and Delta's mainline flight attendants aren't in that table. It does list about 1,910 Endeavor Air flight attendants represented by the AFA. In-flight service is one of the areas where the 10-K says Delta added employees in 2022 and 2023.
Is Delta unionized?
Mostly not. About 20% of Delta's approximately 103,000 full-time equivalent employees were represented by unions at the end of 2025, according to its 10-K. The represented groups are Delta pilots and dispatchers, Endeavor Air pilots and flight attendants, about 200 refinery workers and some employees outside the US. The share was 23% at the end of 2020.
Did Delta lay off employees during the pandemic?
Delta's 2020 10-K says it avoided involuntary furloughs of US employees. Instead, about 18,000 employees took early retirement or voluntary separation in the September 2020 quarter, cutting the workforce by about 20%, and about 50,000 took voluntary unpaid leave during 2020. Full-time equivalents fell from about 91,000 at the end of 2019 to about 74,000 at the end of 2020.