Profit share
An annual bonus paid to crew when the airline makes money, ranging from a token payment to several months' salary.
Definition
Profit share is a bonus scheme that distributes a slice of the airline's annual profit to employees, usually as a lump sum or a percentage of the year's earnings. It is discretionary or formula-based depending on the airline: some write the formula into a union contract, others announce it year by year. In good years it can be one of the largest single line items in a crew member's pay; in loss-making years it is zero.
What it means for you
Treat profit share as upside, not income — do not budget rent around it. It rewards staying through a full financial year, so leaving in the wrong month can forfeit a payment, and it is one reason a modest hourly rate at a consistently profitable airline can out-earn a higher rate at a struggling one.
In practice
Emirates paid crew profit share worth multiple months' salary in 2024-2025, and Delta's February payout has historically run above 10% of annual earnings in strong years, while crew at loss-making carriers received nothing.
Go deeper
Related terms
3 terms- Basic salaryPay & benefitsThe fixed monthly amount paid regardless of hours flown; only one part of crew pay, and at US carriers barely present at all.
- Pay scalePay & benefitsThe published table of hourly or monthly rates that rises in steps with years of service and rank.
- UnionPay & benefitsThe organisation that negotiates cabin crew pay, work rules and grievances collectively with the airline.