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Employee Benefit Plans (Notes)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]  
Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS

We sponsor defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans, healthcare plans, and disability and survivorship plans for eligible employees and retirees and their eligible family members.

Defined Benefit Pension Plans. We sponsor defined benefit pension plans for eligible employees and retirees. These plans are closed to new entrants and frozen for future benefit accruals. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 allows commercial airlines to elect alternative funding rules (“Alternative Funding Rules”) for defined benefit plans that are frozen. Delta elected the Alternative Funding Rules under which the unfunded liability for a frozen defined benefit plan may be amortized over a fixed 17-year period and is calculated using an 8.85% interest rate. We estimate the funding requirements under these plans will total approximately $700 million in 2012.

Defined Contribution Pension Plans. Delta sponsors several defined contribution plans. These plans generally cover different employee groups and employer contributions vary by plan. The cost associated with our defined contribution pension plans is shown in the tables below.

Postretirement Healthcare Plans. We sponsor healthcare plans that provide benefits to eligible retirees and their dependents who are under age 65. We have generally eliminated company-paid post age 65 healthcare coverage, except for (1) subsidies available to a limited group of retirees and their dependents and (2) a group of retirees who retired prior to 1987. Benefits under these plans are funded from current assets and employee contributions.

Postemployment Plans. We provide certain other welfare benefits to eligible former or inactive employees after employment but before retirement, primarily as part of the disability and survivorship plans. Substantially all employees are eligible for benefits under these plans in the event of a participant's death and/or disability.

Benefit Obligations, Fair Value of Plan Assets, and Funded Status
 
Pension Benefits
 
Other Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
 
December 31,
 
December 31,
(in millions)
2011
2010
 
2011
2010
Benefit obligation at beginning of period
$
17,506

$
17,031

 
$
3,298

$
3,427

Service cost
—

—

 
52

58

Interest cost
969

982

 
180

196

Actuarial loss (gain)
1,860

570

 
311

(115
)
Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities
(1,042
)
(1,013
)
 
(328
)
(333
)
Participant contributions
—

—

 
54

59

Plan amendments
—

—

 
—

6

Special termination benefits
—

—

 
3

—

Settlements
—

(64
)
 
—

—

Benefit obligation at end of period(1)
$
19,293

$
17,506

 
$
3,570

$
3,298

 
 
 
 
 
 
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of period
$
8,249

$
7,623

 
$
1,120

$
1,153

Actual (loss) gain on plan assets
(16
)
975

 
(37
)
140

Employer contributions
598

728

 
235

171

Participant contributions
—

—

 
54

59

Benefits paid, including lump sums and annuities
(1,042
)
(1,013
)
 
(400
)
(403
)
Settlements
—

(64
)
 
—

—

Fair value of plan assets at end of period
$
7,789

$
8,249

 
$
972

$
1,120

 
 
 
 
 
 
Funded status at end of period
$
(11,504
)
$
(9,257
)
 
$
(2,598
)
$
(2,178
)

(1) 
At each period-end presented, our accumulated benefit obligations for our pension plans are equal to the benefit obligations shown above.

Balance Sheet Position
 
Pension Benefits
 
Other Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
 
December 31,
 
December 31,
(in millions)
2011
2010
 
2011
2010
Current liabilities
$
(16
)
$
(13
)
 
$
(137
)
$
(144
)
Noncurrent liabilities
(11,488
)
(9,244
)
 
(2,460
)
(2,034
)
Total liabilities
$
(11,504
)
$
(9,257
)
 
$
(2,597
)
$
(2,178
)
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net actuarial (loss) gain
$
(5,844
)
$
(3,299
)
 
$
(406
)
$
44

Prior service cost
—

—

 
(5
)
(3
)
Total accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income, pretax
$
(5,844
)
$
(3,299
)
 
$
(411
)
$
41



During 2011, the net actuarial loss recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income related to our benefit plans increased to $6.3 billion from $3.3 billion. This increase is primarily due to (1) the decrease in discount rates from 2010 to 2011 and (2) a lower than expected actual return on plan assets in 2011.

Estimated amounts that will be amortized from accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic benefit cost in 2012 are a net actuarial loss of $163 million. Amounts are generally amortized into accumulated other comprehensive income over the expected future lifetime of plan participants.

Net Periodic Cost
 
Pension Benefits
 
Other Postretirement and
Postemployment Benefits
 
Year Ended December 31,
 
Year Ended December 31,
(in millions)
2011
2010
2009
 
2011
2010
2009
Service cost
$
—

$
—

$
—

 
$
52

$
58

$
53

Interest cost
969

982

1,002

 
180

196

207

Expected return on plan assets
(724
)
(677
)
(615
)
 
(90
)
(90
)
(79
)
Amortization of prior service benefit
—

—

—

 
(3
)
(4
)
18

Recognized net actuarial loss (gain)
55

48

33

 
(11
)
(4
)
(18
)
Settlements
—

14

9

 
—

—

—

Special termination benefits
—

—

—

 
—

—

6

Net periodic cost
$
300

$
367

$
429

 
$
128

$
156

$
187

Defined contribution plan costs
377

334

306

 
—

—

—

Total cost
$
677

$
701

$
735

 
$
128

$
156

$
187



Assumptions

We used the following actuarial assumptions to determine our benefit obligations and our net periodic cost for the periods presented:
 
December 31,
Benefit Obligations(1)(2)
2011
2010
Weighted average discount rate
4.94
%
5.69
%
 
Year Ended December 31,
Net Periodic Cost(2)(4)
2011
2010
2009
Weighted average discount rate - pension benefit
5.70
%
5.93
%
6.49
%
Weighted average discount rate - other postretirement benefit
5.55
%
5.75
%
6.46
%
Weighted average discount rate - other postemployment benefit
5.63
%
5.88
%
6.50
%
Weighted average expected long-term rate of return on plan assets
8.93
%
8.82
%
8.83
%
Assumed healthcare cost trend rate(3)
7.00
%
7.50
%
8.00
%
 
(1) 
Our 2011 and 2010 benefit obligations are measured using a mortality table projected to 2015 and 2013, respectively.
(2) 
Future compensation levels do not impact our frozen defined benefit pension plans or other postretirement plans and impact only a small portion of our other postemployment liability.
(3) 
Assumed healthcare cost trend rate at December 31, 2011 is assumed to decline gradually to 5.00% by 2020 and remain level thereafter.
(4) 
Our assumptions reflect various remeasurements of certain portions of our obligations and represent the weighted average of the assumptions used for each measurement date.

Healthcare Cost Trend Rate. Assumed healthcare cost trend rates have an effect on the amounts reported for the other postretirement benefit plans. A 1% change in the healthcare cost trend rate used in measuring the accumulated plan benefit obligation for these plans at December 31, 2011, would have the following effects:
(in millions)
1% Increase
1% Decrease
Increase (decrease) in total service and interest cost
$
5

$
(5
)
Increase (decrease) in the accumulated plan benefit obligation
$
63

$
(69
)


Expected Long-Term Rate of Return. The expected long-term rate of return on plan assets is based primarily on plan-specific investment studies using historical market return and volatility data. Modest excess return expectations versus some public market indices are incorporated into the return projections based on the actively managed structure of the investment programs and their records of achieving such returns historically. We also expect to receive a premium for investing in less liquid private markets. We review our rate of return on plan asset assumptions annually. Our annual investment performance for one particular year does not, by itself, significantly influence our evaluation. The investment strategy for our defined benefit pension plan assets is to utilize a diversified mix of global public and private equity portfolios, public and private fixed income portfolios, and private real estate and natural resource investments to earn a long-term investment return that meets or exceeds our annualized return target.

Plan Assets

We have adopted and implemented investment policies for our defined benefit pension plans and disability and survivorship plan for pilots that incorporate strategic asset allocation mixes intended to best meet the plans' long-term obligations. This asset allocation policy mix utilizes a diversified mix of investments and is reviewed periodically. The weighted-average target and actual asset allocations for the plans are as follows:
 
December 31, 2011
 
Target
Actual
Diversified fixed income
22%
23%
Domestic equity securities
21
20
Alternative investments
20
23
Non-U.S. developed equity securities
20
18
Non-U.S. emerging equity securities
6
5
Hedge funds
5
5
Cash equivalents
5
4
High yield fixed income
1
2
Total
100%
100%


The overall asset mix of the portfolios is more heavily weighted in equity-like investments. Active management strategies are utilized where feasible in an effort to realize investment returns in excess of market indices. For additional information regarding the fair value of pension assets, see Note 2.
Benefit Payments

Benefit payments in the table below are based on the same assumptions used to measure the related benefit obligations and are paid from both funded benefit plan trusts and current assets. Actual benefit payments may vary significantly from these estimates. Benefits earned under our pension plans and certain postemployment benefit plans are expected to be paid from funded benefit plan trusts, while our other postretirement benefits are funded from current assets.

The following table summarizes, the benefit payments that are scheduled to be paid in the years ending December 31:
(in millions)
Pension Benefits
Other Postretirement and Postemployment Benefits
2012
$
1,060

$
264

2013
1,070

263

2014
1,080

261

2015
1,097

261

2016
1,116

264

2017-2021
5,925

1,394



Other

We also sponsor defined benefit pension plans for eligible employees in certain foreign countries. These plans did not have a material impact on our Consolidated Financial Statements in any period presented.

Profit Sharing Program

Our broad based employee profit sharing program provides that, for each year in which we have an annual pre-tax profit, as defined, we will pay a specified portion of that profit to employees. Based on our pre-tax earnings for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, we accrued $264 million and $313 million under the profit sharing program, respectively. We did not record an accrual under the profit sharing program in 2009.