Following $1.6B profit sharing payout, Delta unveils ‘thank you’ plane featuring all 90,000 employee names.

Delta Air Lines paid yesterday more than $1 billion in profit sharing, celebrating the outstanding accomplishments made possible by its employees around the world. The $1.6 billion profit sharing pool – a record for a U.S.-based company – translates to a 16.7 percent payout for eligible employees.

Delta would be nothing without our 90,000 people worldwide. They deserve all the credit for our success, and we are proud to recognize their extraordinary work with a $1.6 billion payout – marking the sixth year in a row that Delta’s profit sharing has exceeded $1 billion.

Delta CEO Ed Bastian

The airline has paid more than $6.5 billion in profits directly to its employees over the past five years – a milestone no other company has ever achieved.

Thank you to the world’s best employees and customers

At a profit sharing celebration this morning in the airline’s hometown of Atlanta, Delta leaders unveiled another symbol of the company’s appreciation: a custom aircraft livery featuring all 90,000 employee names, alongside a message that the aircraft is “dedicated to the world’s best employees and customers.”

The custom “thank you” message featured on this Airbus A321 aircraft was designed, produced and installed in-house by Delta people. The process – which involved 48 custom decal panels – took more than a week to complete at the Delta TechOps print shop and hangar in Atlanta.

For Joel Freeland, a TechOps painter who worked on the project, the aircraft is particularly meaningful.

It’s so wonderful to get to do a project like this. The idea was conceived within Delta, and all the employees working together have made it a reality.

Joel Freeland, a TechOps painter