Aviation watchdog JonNYC has been sharing photos of the deplorable condition of American Airlines crew rooms at major airports.
He starts with a bed bug that was “crawling on a crewmember” – a photo that was shared with me by another tipster as well. And that doesn’t even begin to get to the condition of the recliners there (which are for pilots as well, not just flight attendants).
AA "The state of FA crew rooms are deplorable" pic.twitter.com/kyRxhSzabB
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) May 19, 2025
I know that American Airlines has significantly de-emphasized Los Angeles. They’re no longer flying to long haul international destinations outside of joint venture hubs (London, Tokyo, Australia). There’s no more Hong Kong, no more China, there’s no Deep South America. With that, it seems, went investment in upkeep for the furniture. One imagines they could repurpose the dormant Flagship First Dining facility at least with no extra expense?
LAX T5 checking in…
(There is another chair in that room, not in the picture, that won’t stay upright. It needs to he propped up against the wall) pic.twitter.com/9xF7thwM3h— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) May 19, 2025
When CEO Robert Isom took over the airline, his admonition to employees at his first gathering was to never spend a dollar they don’t have to. That was certainly consistent with the mindset of the airline already, which probably explains how things got here – though an American Airlines spokesperson tells me that this photo does not represent the current condition and the spaces have since been refreshed.
Let’s continue the tour of DFW terminal c flight attendant/pilot ops. “The bathrooms are often out of service and need to use terminal bathrooms” pic.twitter.com/dlJ9Sc2uM1
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) May 19, 2025
For what it’s worth, the passenger bathrooms in DFW terminal C and the non-public facilities really aren’t that much better.
American has increased their investment in the new DFW E terminal and are putting a bit of money into renovating this C terminal which is over 50 years old. However the airport itself thought the building was so bad it should be torn down, with an opportunity to start over.
Meanwhile, where are the unions in all of this? According to a spokesperson for American, they are taking immediate steps to review and correct the conditions, and there are renovation plans underway already for several of these spaces.
Shocking yes. Surprising no.
You would think this kind of thing is what unions would be good at bringing to management’s attention. It”s one thing not to sink a ton of money into crew lounges, but it’s another to have busted furniture. That’s in nobody’s interest. I suspect there’s more to this story than the photos.
Ah, yet again, “the beatings will continue until morale improves.” Or, maybe, treat your people better, pay them more, invest in nicer things, and you’ll retain them longer, get more out of them, etc.
Thanks to Gary and Jon for bringing more attention to this. Another saying: “the squeaky wheel gets the grease!”
@Chopsticks — Yes, and they do advocate for more than just better contracts. I’m sure folks have noticed that this needs improvement, too.
I can assure you the pilot lounges do not look like this.