Defined Benefit (Pension) · DOL Form 5500 · 2022

Delta Air Lines, Inc. Pension Plan

Data updated 2026-08-25

$4.3B
Total assets Very large vs avg
1,560
Participants Near avg headcount
100th
Percentile by assets National rank
$2.7M
Avg per participant High balance/head
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Official DOL plan name: Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees · Sponsored by Delta Air Lines, Inc. · Georgia · Transportation & Warehousing

$4.3B in assets, 1,560 participants

Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees reported $4.3B in total assets and 1,560 participants in its 2022 DOL Form 5500 filing, ranking in the 100th percentile by assets among filed plans. Figures are as reported by the plan sponsor to the Department of Labor, not audited or endorsed by PlainRetire.

  • #3,857 in Transportation & Warehousing (3,876 peers)

Where Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees sits by assets

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees sits among the largest 1% of all filed plans, $4.3B for 1,560 participants (~$2.7M/participant), down 3.2% in 2022.

#3,857
in Transportation & Warehousing (3,876 peers)
-3.2%
assets change YoY
43×
vs typical plan assets (national mean)

The plan reported a net loss of $141M for the year, a single-year figure driven by markets and benefit payments, not a measure of plan health.

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees's outsized position by total assets

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees vs every filed plan by assets

End-of-year total assets · plan year 2022 · DOL Form 5500

$4,258,859,679 Highest reported value at or above every one of 139,123 filed plans

This plan $0 $2,050,000,000 every filed plan with reported assets, bucketed by value

Dashed line + filled bar = this entry, among filed plans.

Source U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA) · plan year 2022

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees's large-plan peer group by participant headcount

Plan-year 2022 Form 5500 filings with a reported participant count, partitioned by headcount band, not by assets. Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees lands in the large band (1,560 participants).

Form 5500 schedule snapshot

Filing strip 580218548 · Delta Air Lines, Inc. PY 2022 · Defined Benefit (Pension)

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees · $4.3B · 1,560 · 100th

  • BOY $4.3B
  • BOY 1,560
  • BOY 100th
  • BOY Defined Benefit (Pension)
  • BOY near United States Steel Corporation Plan for Employee Pension Benefits (Revision of 2003)
  • BOY ind #3857

Stamps derive from this plan's Form 5500 line items (assets, participants, type, EIN, cohort placement) - not a quality rating of the sponsor. Read with Transportation & Warehousing retirement plans → · Plans in Georgia →

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees in the asset neighbourhood

Marsh & Mclennan Companies Retirement PlanMarsh & Mclennan Companies R…$4.3BNational Automatic Sprinkler Industry Pension FundNational Automatic Sprinkler…$4.3BNorthwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot EmployeesNorthwest Airlines Pension P…$4.3BUnited States Steel Corporation Plan for Employee Pension Benefits (Revision of 2003)United States Steel Corporat…$4.3BMajor League Baseball Players Pension PlanMajor League Baseball Player…$4.2B
End-of-year total assets ($B) among Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees and nearest nationwide Defined Benefit (Pension) peers. Source: DOL Form 5500 plan year 2022.

Scale-class filing particulars (2022)

Total Assets (Beginning of Year)$4.4B
Net Assets (End of Year)$4.3B
Net Income-$141M
Employer EIN580218548
Plan Effective Date1956-04-01
Filing StatusFILING RECEIVED

Sponsor Plan History (Delta Air Lines, Inc.)

Sponsor-wide plan assets over time

All Delta Air Lines, Inc. plans reported in each filing year

Latest sponsor-wide plan assets
$51.4B 27.83790401128044% vs 2022
2024 filing year
$35B$40B$45B$50B$55B 202220232024 $40.2B $51.4B ▲ +27.8%
Year Plans Participants Total Assets
2022 11 112,289 $40.2B
2023 12 136,516 $46.0B
2024 12 145,368 $51.4B

Nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) Plans in Georgia

Peer Defined Benefit (Pension) plans, same state, same plan type, ranked by total assets.

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Georgia, assets vs. participants Scatter plot of 6 data points. -50000050000100000150000200000 0510152025 Total assets ($B) Participants Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees, Total assets ($B): 4.258859679 · Participants: 1560Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot EmployeesUPS Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 22.022408253 · Participants: 52821UPS Retirement PlanThe Southern Company Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 14.822086516 · Participants: 25663The Southern Company Pension PlanUPS/Ibt Full-Time Employee Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 11.867504693 · Participants: 68592UPS/Ibt Full-Time Employee Pension PlanUPS Pension Plan, Total assets ($B): 9.568572149 · Participants: 151682UPS Pension PlanDelta Retirement Plan, Total assets ($B): 7.354895526 · Participants: 15951Delta Retirement Plan
Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees vs. nearby Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in Georgia, assets vs. participants
Compare Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees side-by-side with 3 peers →

Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees's out-of-state Defined Benefit (Pension) peers by assets and headcount

Outside Georgia, the nearest Defined Benefit (Pension) by assets is United States Steel Corporation Plan for Employee Pension Benefits (Revision of 2003) in PA ($4.3B); by covered participants it is Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Pension Plan in PA (1,558 participants). Same-state nearby plans are listed separately above.

Similar participant headcount

Nearest other-state filings by covered participants (1,560 participants); asset peers above are excluded.

DOL Form 5500 plan year 2022. Asset totals can differ widely at the same headcount; neither axis is a quality rating.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees assets move in 2022? ▼
Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees edged down modestly - down 3.2% during 2022, from $4.4B to $4.3B. Reported net income was -$141M.
How have Delta Air Lines, Inc. plan assets changed over time? ▼
Across 3 plan years on file (2022-2024), Delta Air Lines, Inc.'s sponsor-wide assets grew 27.8%, from $40.2B to $51.4B.
Where does Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees rank by assets among Form 5500 filers? ▼
Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees ranks in the 100th percentile by end-of-year assets among 139,126 plans that reported assets for plan year 2022 (among the largest 1% of all filed plans).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans are similar in size to Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by assets is United States Steel Corporation Plan for Employee Pension Benefits (Revision of 2003) in PA ($4.3B, 3,484 participants).
Which Defined Benefit (Pension) plans cover a similar participant headcount to Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees? ▼
Among Defined Benefit (Pension) plans in other states, the closest by covered participants is Allegheny Technologies Incorporated Pension Plan in PA (1,558 participants, $1.8B in assets).

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Form 5500 public disclosure dataset. Plan year 2022.

Source: DOL EFAST2 filing system (efast.dol.gov) - original filing retrieval by EIN 580218548.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from U.S. Department of Labor Form 5500 filings (EBSA). See our methodology for details.