The largest payout in the history of corporate profit sharing in the US has been made by Delta Air Lines as 80,000 staff received their portion of $1.5 billion.
Individual payouts equal more than 21% of the employees’ eligible 2015 earnings.
Delta reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of $5.9 billion for 2015.
This came as it reported a total of 161 days with no mainline cancellations and an on-time rate of 85.9%.
In addition to profit sharing, Delta’s shared rewards scheme pays out monthly bonuses for meeting corporate operational goals throughout the year.
The airline’s staff earned more than $94.9 million in shared rewards in 2015 as Delta achieved record operational and financial results.
Delta has paid out $4.1 billion to employees in profit sharing and shared rewards in the past five years.
Chief executive Richard Anderson and president Ed Bastian told staff in a memo: “We are often asked what makes Delta different. The difference is you.
“Our unique people-focused culture, built on working together, is the advantage that none of our competitors can match.”
The airline is to operate on a “conservative” 2016 budget with the goal of maintaining a sustainable business that is committed to paying down debt, investing in its employees and rewarding customers and shareholders.