Do we like them?

Do we like Delta Air Lines?

Major US airline flying worldwide passengers and cargo, based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A well-run airline that shares profits with staff and has climate targets. Against that, it has paid large settlements and relies on offsets and a small amount of cleaner fuel.

Delta is one of America's biggest airlines, based in Atlanta, with Ed Bastian as CEO. It likes to talk up its staff. By its own figures, it has paid out around $11 billion in profit sharing since 2015, and Bastian's 2025 message cites $1.3 billion in profit sharing and a 4% raise.

On climate, Delta pledged about $1 billion over 10 years in 2020 to go carbon neutral. It targets net zero by 2050 and a 45% cut in emissions intensity by 2035. It also reported 3.5 million gallons of sustainable fuel in 2023. That's a small share of what a big airline burns, and it is Delta's own reporting.

The dramas are real, though. Delta agreed to pay $78.75 million over a January 2020 incident when a jet dumped fuel over LA, including over school children. Delta denies the claims and admits no liability. It also settled a suit over a deadly tire explosion, reported in March 2026.

In 2024 the US Department of Transportation opened an investigation after Delta cancelled over 6,000 flights following the CrowdStrike outage. Passengers complained about long waits for help, and some unaccompanied minors were reported stranded. Delta said it was cooperating. A headline suggests the probe ended without major fines.

Overall we'd give it a decent but not glowing 6. It treats workers better than most airlines and has set climate goals. But it is a heavy polluter, and the settlements and the outage meltdown show there are still failings.