Understanding The Salaries For Delta Pilots In Minnesota

Ever wonder what it pays to fly the friendly skies out of Minnesota? Commercial pilots for Delta Air Lines, the largest airline serving Minnesota, are taking home some serious salaries that might make you rethink your own career path.

Pilots for any commercial airline today earn some pretty hefty salaries. Not that they're not warranted, of course, seeing as a pilot for a major airline has a job that is incredibly complex and comes with an immense amount of responsibility, right?

Delta Pilots in Minnesota Are Flying High With Big Paychecks

Here in Minnesota, Delta is the largest airline in the state. And the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) is Delta's second-largest hub in the country outside of its home base in Atlanta. And those Delta Air Lines pilots signed onto a new contract in March 2023 that included some substantial raises.

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When it was first signed over two years ago, Delta's pilots made news across the airline industry for being offered a new contract that included a 34% raise over the next four years! That's not a typo (not 3.4%, for example), it is, in fact, a pay increase that will be at least 34%!

According to this CNBC story, 78% of Delta's 15,000 pilots-- a decent number of whom are based here in the North Star State-- approved that new deal, and the contract went into effect on March 2nd. It meant all Delta pilots earned an 18% raise in 2023 with another 5% raise in 2024, a 4% raise this year, and another 4% in 2026. Altogether, that's a 34 percent increase in salary over four years.

Photo by Isaac Struna on Unsplash

How Much Money Do Delta Pilots in Minnesota Really Make?

This Flying story says that even before this historic raise, Delta pilots were already earn inga pretty hefty salary, depending upon their experience and the aircraft they fly.

Pilot pay at Delta Air Lines ranges from $64,000 per year for a new first officer up to $257,000 per year for a senior captain.

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And, in addition to great pay, Flying says Delta pilots also get some decent benefits, too, including:

Profit-sharing
Retirement savings plan
Training and professional development
Competitive life insurance
Comprehensive medical insurance, including dental and optometry
Paid leave benefits
Free and discounted flights

Becoming a commercial airline pilot isn't cheap, however

If you'd like to earn your wings and become a pilot, it's going to cost you. Flying says flight school tuition can run anywhere from $80,000 to a whopping $400,000, depending on what type of school you attend. So, you'll need some of those salaries just to pay off the debt you incurred while in flight school!

Both stories noted that the massive raise Delta offered its pilots is a result of the company's attempts to retain pilots in the wake of a continuing shortage caused by the pandemic, and has been duplicated at several other airlines, as well.

Now while pilots DO make a pretty good living, they're likely NOT among the richest people in America. Keep scrolling to see WHO are the richest-- and how they did it!