These U.S. Airline CEOs Made the Most Money Last Year
Skift Take
Does the average traveler care whether a U.S. airline CEO made $7 million or $13 million last year? It's highly doubtful. Passengers want to fly a well-run, on-time airline with friendly customer service. How much money the CEO makes is probably immaterial to most customers.
Delta Air Lines Chief Executive Ed Bastian earned slightly more total compensation in 2017 than any of his U.S. peers, as his carrier generally performed better on financial and operational metrics than its competitors.
Bastian, who became CEO in May, 2016, received roughly $13.2 million in compensation, mostly in stock, as he is paid a base salary of $800,000. That pay was 142 times greater than the median pay for Delta's workers overall, a new metric companies are required by the Securities & Exchange Commission to report now.
Bastian's pay was about 5 percent more than he was paid in 2016, when United CEO Oscar Munoz took the top spot.
"Delta carries itself today and it has for about five years the way American carried itself in the 1970s and 80s — as the undisputed industry leader," said Robert Mann, an industry consultant. "If there is one guy who most deserves it, it would be Ed."
After earning $18.7 million in 2016 total compensation, including a bonus tied to his hiring, United's Munoz slipped last year to third among U.S. airline CEOs — by design.
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