Delta Air Lines (DAL) Approves $5B Common Stock Buyback.Delta Air Lines (DAL) Approves $5B Common Stock Buyback, 50% Dividend Hike Delta Air Lines' (NYSE: DAL) Board of Directors today announced a new $5 billion share repurchase program, to be completed no later than December 31, 2017. In addition, the company's quarterly dividend will increase by 50 percent to $0.135 per share beginning in the September 2015 quarter. These two programs are expected to return more than $6 billion to shareholders through 2017. The company also announced that it is on track to complete the remaining $725 million of its prior $2 billion share repurchase authorization by June 30. "Today's announcement marks the next phase of Delta's long-term capital deployment strategy as we near conclusion of our balance sheet transformation and place even greater emphasis on returning our free cash flow to shareholders," said Daniel Carp, chairman of Delta's Board of Directors. "The expansion of our shareholder return program reflects the Board's confidence in Delta's ability to sustain and improve upon its strong financial performance."