Bastian’s salary rose to $950,000 in 2021, after dropping to $237,500 in 2020. The CEO refused to take a salary from April to December 2020. At the time, Delta was struggling for the first few months of the pandemic and reduced its payroll through unpaid leave. and reducing the hours and total wages of many workers. Bastian’s salary was later reinstated in 2021.

The CARES Act, passed in 2020, gave airlines billions of dollars in relief funding while capping executive compensation, prompting Delta to adjust incentive bonuses.

But the board said it had made no changes to Bastian’s compensation structure in 2021, adding that the vast majority of his compensation was at risk and dependent on company performance and share price. the action. In 2020, his total compensation was $13.1 million.

Delta’s SEC filing also revealed that the company paid large signing bonuses to two executives hired in 2021. Chief Financial Officer Dan Janki earned a $1.5 million signing bonus with an initial stock award of $4.5 million last year, and although International President Alain Bellemare received a signing bonus of $1 million and an initial bonus of $3 million.

In total, Janki received nearly $10.7 million in total compensation in 2021, including a salary of $307,765, $6.1 million in stock awards, $1.1 million in options, $1.6 million in incentive compensation, signing bonus and other compensation.

Meanwhile, Delta Chairman Glen Hauenstein received total compensation of $7.1 million and Chief Legal Officer Peter Carter received total compensation of $5.2 million.

The board’s compensation committee said it had amended executive incentive plans in 2021 to “better link pay to performance throughout the expected stages of recovery, while ensuring the majority of remuneration remains at risk”. Among the changes, Delta said it reduced the number of performance metrics, moved targets, opted for cash payouts for some payouts, changed the vesting schedule for stock awards, and reduced the maximum payout.

The SEC filing also showed activist shareholder John Chevedden is proposing that Delta be held accountable for its payments and lobbying policy. Chevedden said the airline has come under scrutiny for lobbying against limits on baggage fees and ticket change fees and that Bastian lobbied to reduce COVID-19 quarantine time for employees . Delta’s board of directors opposes Chevedden’s shareholder proposal.