Delta Air Lines announced a 3 percent pay raise for its nonunion employees, effective July 1.The announcement Friday comes as Delta flight attendants vote on whether to join the Association of Flight Attendants. But a Delta spokeswoman said the raises and the union vote were coincidental. The voting by more than 12,000 employees began April 23 and lasts until May 28. If they approve joining the AFA, the flight attendants would join pilots as the only other major work group at the carrier to be represented by a union.

Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said the pay increase is something that has been planned since the airline emerged from bankruptcy just over a year ago.

"Last year, when we emerged from bankruptcy, we offered a pay increase to our employees," Talton said. "It was 4 percent. That went into effect July 1. At that time, we said `We will bring you up to industry standards.' This is part of the process. There will be future increases.



"The flight attendants have always been included, and it would be unfair to exclude them this time," she said.

Calls to the AFA were not immediately returned.

Delta Air Lines Inc., which is in the process of buying Northwest Airlines in a deal that would form the world's largest carrier, announced in March that it would offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees — more than half its work force — and cut U.S. capacity by an extra 5 percent.

Executives at Atlanta-based Delta said then that the goal was to cut 2,000 frontline, administrative and management jobs through the severance program, attrition and other initiatives.

Delta had 55,044 total full-time employees at of the end of last year. Since 2001, it had previously announced it would cut up to 33,000 jobs.

In a letter to all employees on Friday, Delta Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson and Ed Bastian, president and chief financial officer, said the decision on the pay increase follows careful consideration of the impact that record fuel prices will have on the company's business.

"We've done that now, and our confidence in taking this step comes from the tremendous work you are all doing in those parts of our business we can control," the letter stated.

"In the first quarter, we achieved 101 percent of industry average unit revenues; we've established fuel hedges currently valued at more than $350 million; we remain on track to gain an additional $550 million in productivity this year, and the list goes on.

"We also remain confident in the strength of our proposed merger with Northwest and the speed with which it will move forward."

(This version CORRECTS Corrects Anderson to CEO, Bastian to president and CFO; ADDS comment from Delta spokeswoman)

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