Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s compensation totaled $9.6 million in 2022

Delta reported $1.3 billion in net income for 2022 as it benefitted from a strong rebound in travel demand, and paid out $563 million in profit-sharing bonuses to employees on Valentine’s Day.

But it was also a tumultuous year for the airline and for its customers, who suffered through mass flight cancellations over the summer and holidays amid staffing issues and disruptions.

“In my opinion, 2022 was the most difficult operational year in our history, and was capped off by severe winter storms over the holidays,” Bastian said in January.

Other top executives at Delta also saw declines in their total compensation with the changes to the long-term incentives.

Delta’s long-term incentive program links executive compensation to the airline’s financial performance, stock price performance and customer service over a three-year period. The measure used for customer service is a “net promoter score,” a measure of how many customers would recommend Delta to others.

Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s president, had $5.8 million in total compensation in 2022, down from more than $7 million the previous year.

Delta will also have a new board chairman later this year, with current chairman Frank Blake to be replaced by board member David Taylor as chairman.

Separately, two shareholder proposals are set to come before Delta stock owners for votes. One would call for shareholder ratification of large severance or termination payments for senior managers.

The other would call for a non-interference policy to uphold rights to collective bargaining, a proposal that comes as union organizing efforts are under way at Delta.