Delta pilots are getting a massive raise as airlines battle a persistent labor shortage

• Delta Air Lines pilots will get a 34% raise over 4 years, for a cumulative value of more than $7 billion.

• Delta is one of the first major airlines to reach a new agreement with its pilots since the pandemic.

• The agreement's success could be "disruptive" for the airline industry.

Pilots at Delta Air Lines are finally going to get the big pay raises they've been negotiating to get for years.

On March 1, Delta pilots approved a new contract that includes a 34% raise for the company's 15,000 pilots over four years, the airline and pilots' union said. Cumulative raises will amount to over $7 billion.

Pilots will first see an 18% raise in 2023, 5% in 2024, 4% in 2025, and 4% in 2026, when the contract runs out.

The contract is the result of a preliminary agreement reached in December, and one of the first by a major airline since the pandemic drastically altered the industry.

It's one of the first major US carriers to reach an updated contract with pilots after Alaska reached an agreement in October. Jetblue and Spirit have also come to agreements with their respective unions recently, but other negotiations have not been so easy.

In November, American Airlines' pilots rejected a contract including a 19% raise over four years, while United pilots rejected a 15% raise around the same time.

It's likely that Delta's successful agreement will speed things up for competitors. American Airlines said the deal could "profoundly" change the industry, according to Reuters. Analysts at JPMorgan recently described the wage increases as "disruptive" in a note to clients ahead of the deal's full ratification.

The pay raise is part of a trend of airlines doing what they can to solve the much-talked-about pilot shortage. According to some estimates, the industry is 18,000 commercial aviation pilots short in 2023, and it will lack 17,000 in 2030.

Airlines have fortified their recruiting efforts to make up lost ground. In 2022, two of American Airlines' regional carriers, for example, essentially doubled first-year captains' pay, increasing it from $78 an hour to $146 an hour. Missouri-based regional airline GoJet Airlines started offering $20,000 bonuses to first officers and $40,000 to captains, while Delta itself stopped requiring a four-year college degree for prospective pilots.

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