I'm not surprised by the question, as it was buried halfway down the latest MEC update. I would have thought this paper should have been brought to the forefront.

Check your ipad/email (or DALPA website) for MEC News May 14 2026.

A link to it can be found there.

The white paper is called "Where Are All the Pilots? A Look at Delta Air Lines' Pilot Staffing"


I will say that one thing I have noticed recently in my category is when RES staffing is projected to be above 20% and every RES gets an additional X-day (yay!), then the PBS awards come out and there are fewer than 20% RES vs the total staff of the category. Think about that when you read the white paper.