Imagine showing up to work but not getting paid for the first half-hour you’re there. You’re still expected to work–in fact, imagine those first 30 minutes or so are the most stressful part of your job–you just don’t get paid. You’d probably find a different job.
If you’re like me, you probably had no idea flight attendants don’t get paid until the aircraft door closes. On an international flight, when you include the time for check-in and a briefing, flight attendants are expected to show up an hour and a half before a flight is expected to leave. None of that time is paid.
All that time they spend helping people find their seats, cramming luggage in overhead compartments, and dealing with everything else that comes with getting 100 or so people on a long metal tube–none of it is paid. Well, until now.
This week, Delta said it would start paying flight attendants 50 percent of their hourly rate for boarding time. It also said it would extend the time for boarding domestic flights to 40 minutes, up from 35 minutes. This comes after Delta previously announced it would be giving employees a 4 percent raise, starting May 1.
That’s obviously good news, especially if you’re a flight attendant. I just find it hard to believe no airline has done this before. I mean, it kind of makes sense that if you expect someone to show up and do their job, you should pay them for that work. Especially when you consider that work is a critical part of an essential industry.
During the pandemic, while millions of people figured out how to work remotely, flight attendants and pilots were considered essential workers. That meant they were required to come to work, even as everyone else was encouraged to stay home.
Also, let’s not forget that coming to work meant dealing with mask mandates, unruly passengers, delays, staffing shortages, and all of the anxiety that comes with spending a few hours with 100 strangers, any one of whom might be…