Pilots at Delta Air Lines have approved a new contract that will increase wages 34% by 2026 and includes improvements to scheduling, retirement and other benefits, raising the standard for contract negotiations underway at other large US airlines. Voting was conducted in February, and the results were announced on Wednesday, with 78 percent of pilots approving the contract, according to the union that represents them, the Delta Master Executive Council. The raises are valued at more than $7b over four years, the union said. The agreement’s substantial raises are a reflection of a shortage of pilots in the United States and the strong recovery in demand for air travel. Airlines have been hiring thousands of pilots since bookings began picking up in 2021 after the pandemic gutted travel in early 2020. Many airlines offered early retirements and buyout packages to pilots and other employees during the height of the pandemic and before any vaccines became publicly available, thinking demand would recover slowly. They were left short staffed when business picked up much more quickly. “This industry-leading contract is the direct result of the Delta pilots’ unity and resolve,” said Capt. Darren Hartmann, the chairman of the union. “Despite a two-year delay in negotiations due to Covid, we never lost sight of our goal to obtain significant across-the-board enhancements to our Pilot Working Agreement.” The airline’s 15,000 pilots also overwhelmingly approved a separate agreement intended to protect the number of high-paying jobs for pilots who operate international flights. That agreement, approved by 90 percent of those who voted, will require Delta to add new international flying positions whenever it sells more flights operated by foreign airlines that it has partnerships with.<br/>