The tentative pilot contract at Delta Air Lines, if ratified by ALPA membership, will drop the carrier from having the third-highest-paid narrowbody captains to the middle of the pack, while Northwest Airlines, if its pilots ratify their agreement, will fall even further, from having the second-highest-paid work group to the No. 8 position, just above JetBlue.

Interestingly, the NWA and DL pilot ratification voting periods overlap. This sets up a scenario in which the NWA pilots may develop a case of "Delta envy" because the terms of the Delta TA "appear significantly richer than those at Northwest," according to a report from JP Morgan.

The analysis, which cited as sources JP Morgan research, Atlanta-based AIR, Inc., and union contracts, shows that a 12-year Northwest A320 captain currently earns $180 per hr., which falls to $137 under the TA. By comparison, a 12-year Delta 737 captain's hourly pay will fall from $173 to $149. Prior to their November 2004 concessionary agreement, Delta captains were the highest-paid in the industry, earning $202 per hour.

In addition, Delta pilots will receive a $2.1 billion unsecured claim and management has agreed that if the pilot pension plan is rejected--as appears likely--they will get cash and securities worth $650 million. Furthermore, the Delta contact runs through 2009, versus 2011 for NWA. Voting on the NWA contract began April 6 and ends May 3. Pilots can recast their votes up until polls close at 10 a.m. on May 3.

The overall salary leader among US passenger carriers is Southwest Airlines, whose 12-year 737 captains earn $186 per hr., according to JP Morgan. Among legacy network carriers, the leader is American Airlines at $161. At the bottom is US Airways at $125, followed by United at $131 and America West at $134. US Airways and America West pilots are in discussions about merging seniority lists.