Remember that the purpose of a publicly traded company like Delta is to return value to the shareholders.

You are correct that Delta management is incentivized to keep the share price going higher. That is their job. You are incorrect in saying that by doing things to increase the share price such as dividends or share buybacks (or as you call it the "shareholder value bonfire"), they are transferring money away from Delta's future. Your future as an employee will be much better off with a higher stock price. If Delta's stock price crashes, management will be under more pressure from shareholders and the board of the directors to cut costs to increase profitability. That means less pay, longer hours, and worse work rules for you.

I still don't understand why Delta profit sharing isn't paid out in Delta stock. That would be the best way to align the interests of management, employees, and share holders.

If you're concerned about that "shareholder value bonfire", why don't you go out and buy some Delta stock?? Every analyst in the world has it rated a buy. It's been on a tear for the past 3 years. And now the price of oil has just crashed more than 20% in the past 3 months.