Fellow Pilots,

Monday, April 6, marked a milestone for our pilot group as we opened formal Section 6 negotiations for Contract 2026. Your Negotiating Committee, directed by your MEC, is now hard at work fighting on your behalf for improvements to our PWA. Through your record participation in our comprehensive contract survey, you have identified the most important improvements for this round of bargaining, and it is your continued unity and engagement that will drive success in these negotiations.

As you saw in their letter, your MEC is united in purpose and will bring you a tentative agreement -only - if it is worthy of your consideration. Significant deliberation drove the decision to present a contract opener that is focused on driving immediate, high-value improvements to our PWA that bolster your quality of life and recognize your contributions to Delta with continued meaningful gains to your compensation and benefits. We believe that a shorter-duration deal can be achieved on an accelerated timeline, bringing important relief to the issues that affect you most in a matter of weeks or months, rather than years.

But let me be perfectly clear: the prospect of an accelerated timeline will not pressure us into the wrong deal. This path is only successful if management is prepared to engage seriously and address our concerns. If management instead chooses delay over progress, we are fully prepared to pivot to the longer track of a traditional negotiation, broaden our approach, and adjust our proposals accordingly. We are not chasing any quick agreement. We are determined to secure the right agreement for Delta pilots.

That resolve is especially important now, as management has publicly attempted to shift responsibility for its operational failures onto the pilots and our PWA. We all know the truth: Delta pilots have stepped up to perform overtime flying on their days off in record numbers to keep the operation moving. Mismanagement of resources, lack of proper tools and training for Crew Schedulers, and numerous misguided attempts to pinch pennies during the 2025 “centennial” celebration set Delta on this unfortunate and avoidable path.

Attempts to blame our pilots for management’s failures are aimed at deflecting responsibility and driving a wedge between the pilot group, other employees at Delta, and the traveling public. These tactics are from an old and tired playbook that lacks introspection and has never strengthened the Delta organization in any meaningful way. Despite such shameful tactics, Delta pilots show up every day making sure our entire crew, cockpit and cabin alike, have what they need for every flight. Through countless cockpit tours, trading card exchanges, and positive interactions with Delta customers and frontline staff, Delta pilots continue to lead.

Delta pilots have not only led the industry in negotiations but have also secured many of the benefits that other employee groups at Delta now enjoy. Our pilot-negotiated profit-sharing plan remains a clear example of that leadership, continuing to deliver an industry-leading share of Delta’s success not only to pilots, but to employees across the Company. For more than a decade, Delta pilots have held the line against repeated management attempts to weaken or redefine that plan, protecting a hard-won benefit that has value far beyond our own pilot group.

As always, I urge you to stay engaged. Your unity and resolve are the foundation of our strength. As negotiations move forward, your Union will keep you informed with regular, transparent updates. Just as importantly, we will bring forward only an agreement that meets the standard you deserve and that we are prepared to stand behind. Thank you for your continued trust. It is an honor to serve the nearly 17,500 Delta pilots and their families every day.

In Unity,

Eric Criswell
Chairman, Delta Master Executive Council