American Airlines flight attendants demonstrate in Charlotte in November 2023.
American Airlines carried close to eight million people during the holiday period. It cancelled just 16 mainline flights over ten days. Nearly every passenger reached their destination on time. Senior pilots, enjoying new higher pay rates, flew often.
But the intense travel period took a toll on the carrier’s flight attendants, given crowded flights, occasional delays, a few unpleasant passengers and the slow pace of contract talks.
“It was chaotic at times, but it wasn’t as bad as other years,” said a Chicago based flight attendant, who asked not to be named because most employees are not authorized to talk to reporters.
“If you’re a flight attendant just doing your job, people come at you,” she said. “And you worry. You don’t want to be on a viral video. I didn’t think, when I started this, that random people would be filming you when you were working. It becomes very stressful. I like customer service; I enjoy the job and the life style. I enjoy trying to take somebody’s bad day and turn it into something better, and most of the time I can do that. I just don’t know if management understands what we do on a daily basis.”
During the holiday travel period, she worked nearly every day. “I have no problem working the holidays,” she said. “But the least the company can do is show some appreciation.”
Dennis Tajer, spokesman for Allied Pilots Association, which represents American’s 15,000 pilots, said, “ We’ve seen the results. We had a good holiday season. The operations went really well. But there’s no way you can provide reliable premium service unless you take care of the entire crew. We stand with our flight attendants. They have the most amount of time in front of our passengers and they can make the difference between ‘I want to fly on American Airlines
AAL
APA signed a new contract in August. Valued at $9.6 billion, it raised pay by 41% over four years. It includes an extra day of pay (five and a quarter hours of flight pay) for pilots who fly Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
American 27,000 flight attendants work under a contract that was negotiated in 2014.(American offered a mid-contract pay raise in 2017.) The contract became amendable in 2019. The Association of Flight Attendants asked to be released from mediation in November, but the National Mediation Board rejected the request.
More negotiations are scheduled for Jan. 9th to Jan. 11th. “After our next bargaining session, we will assess whether to reiterate our request to be released,” APFA negotiators said in a message to members. “ We are not looking for another quick no; we are looking for a changed answer.” Release would trigger a 30-day cooling-off period, after which the union could strike fully or in select locations.
The Chicago flight attendant said she is willing to strike. The successful 40-day autumn strike by the United Auto Workers inspired her. “They got the contract they deserve,” she said.
One stressful holiday moment stands out. Shortly before Christmas, a woman boarded an evening flight in Chicago. The woman boarded late and started to stash her bag in the first-class overhead bin. The flight attendant assumed the woman, boarding late, was not a first-class passenger and said the bin was reserved for first class. The woman took offense.
“I said ‘This is reserved for first class passengers, I can help you find some space,’” the flight attendant said. “She thought I was assuming that she was not good enough to be first class. She went zero to ten real quick. So I apologized. It turned out she had something going on with her family and was already emotional. I got her something to drink. She was nice afterwards.”
Said Tajer, “Our flight attendants are also therapists.”
She had her share of delays, one due to caterers delivering the wrong meals, one due to a fellow crew member not showing up, one due to a mechanical issue that grounded an aircraft. Also, due to holiday travel, many of her flights carried unescorted minors. These become the flight attendants’ responsibilities.
The flight attendant earns around $50,000 annually. It’s enough to live on, but it doesn’t allow for frivolities. “I’m not one that has to live a lavish life style,” she said. “I’m not a girl that has to go shoe shopping. I can’t even remember the last time I went shopping for fun.”
In a release on Wednesday, American said that between Dec. 20 and Jan. 1 it carried nearly 7.8 million customers on more than 71,000 flights. The carrier said it ”delivered another strong operational performance for its customers during the winter holiday travel period, canceling the fewest flights among the major carriers while operating significantly more on-time flights than last year’s holiday period.”
David Seymour, chief operating officer, said, “When customers purchase tickets on American, they place their trust in us to deliver a safe and reliable operation, and I’m proud to say that thanks to the hard work of our team members, we delivered on that commitment.”
