American Airlines reduced the number of flight attendants on board its widebody and premium cross-country planes during the pandemic. They were trying to save money any way they could, and there wasn’t as much service to offer back then. Travel returned, and service came back, but American has kept operating with fewer people to serve meals and drinks.
The union hates that – it’s fewer jobs, and more work – and it’s not great for customers either. Nearly four years later, an arbitrator has just hard the union’s grievance over the change. The union wants pre-Covid staffing levels, a meeting with management on flight attendant workload, and payments to flight attendants as a make-good.
The U.S. federal government sets a minimum number of flight attendants on an aircraft for safety (generally, one per 50 passenger capacity). But while many flight attendants announce that they are there “primarily for your safety” (don’t expect more than that!) they’re also the people in most direct contact with customers delivering an airline’s service.
So-called ‘full service’ airlines have historically staffed flights with more than the legal minimum. That started changing even before the pandemic, but accelerated when they weren’t providing much service at all.
Six years ago American Airlines reduced flight attendant staffing on many widebody aircraft. They treated premium economy as coach for calculating their staffing needs, and determined that the same flight attendants should be spread out to cover everything. Around the same time United Airlines reduced flight attendant staffing in business class as well.
Then during the pandemic American Airlines further reduced flight attendant staffing,
- To one above FAA legal minimums on international widebody and transcon flights
- To the legal minimum on Boeing 787-8 aircraft
Here’s the current staffing levels:
The union says it “presented an outstanding and thorough case” that the airline abused its discretion, compiling “an incredible amount of data” and offering “a thorough analysis of Flight Attendant duties and tasks.” In their communication to members they talk about “the testimony of many exceptional Flight Attendants.” However they don’t share any actual violations of their contract.
Summarizing American’s response, the union reports that airline claims:
- they offer much less service than they did 20 years ago, so staffing levels should be lower
- current staffing levels still allow flight attendants to take contractual breaks
- reduced staffing matches competitors
- the airline paid ghost riders to watch nearly 200 flight attendants in action (and documented that they aren’t overworked)
Flight attendants union confronts CEO after earnings call
American spent “well over a million dollars” on consultants to help them document that they don’t need higher staffing levels to meet the service standards they require.
The union says that the company thinks they require less service than they actually do, claiming that “Flight Attendants working the main cabin on IPD flights are only required to do a single, combined beverage and meal tray service” rather than “beverage service with a snack accompaniment, followed by a beverage and meal tray service.”
Closing briefs will be due in two to two and a half months and an arbitrator’s decision will follow. From the union’s own description of its case versus that of the airline, it sounds like the union doesn’t have much of a shot at restoring higher service levels. The win here though – which neither side would be likely to accept – would be increased staffing with greater accountability for delivering service.
I can’t fault an airline union for wanting more jobs and less work for their members, but — let’s get real — there isn’t much service provided on a domestic widebody these days. Anyone who’s flown these aircraft on these routes even a few times knows that the flight attendants mostly just sit around during the flight. I can’t think of a service-driven reason why AA needs more flight attendants on these flights.
Less service than 20 years ago? The company was deep in losses, near bankruptcy and was just treading water.
Ghost riders? They’re clearly doing a terrible job considering how AA has some of the laziest FAs in the industry?
A million on consultants? AA doesn’t need any sort of confirmation for their business decisions.
Allow the FAs to eat the meals = solution .
Well, the Union should maybe stop protecting bad employees and give some better flights to newer FA’s so that they don’t have to be on food stamps. It’s not just the corporations fault that the junior FA’s can’t survive. It’s by DESIGN. The Union negotiated everything themselves to protect workers that could pay higher dues. Imagine that. Now, serve Pre-departure beverages please. We are sold that on our expensive tickets.
Time for lazy trash coke machines to actually start doing their jobs.
@BenG … Pre-departure beverages are for the FAs .
Ever since airlines quit serving meals to many of the passengers, flight attendants on USA airlines have had much easier jobs. It is a wonder that airlines didn’t cut flight attendant staffing to the FAA required minimum when that happened.
American is in no hurry of taking delivery of 787s. You get 2 FAs on American Eagle. Regional hubs are expanding.
The number of staffing will go down over the next ten years as automation is introduced. Self service vending machines , pre bring on purchases during boarding , etc
I spent 5yrs working operations for AA. And those were some of the laziest, nastiest, and down right awful FAs I’ve ever experienced. These FAs don’t need more staffing- their crappy union needs to start holding FAs accountable for their actions. At the same time, industry wide, FAs need to be paid a livable wage for their base. $25k/yr is NOT acceptable in any industry. Pay them hourly from the minute they report until they release or something. And stop hiring Trunchable carbon copies
Both AFA and APFA are weak. No fight.
Lifetime Platinum here. We travel to MBJ 6/7 times a year and experience hit and miss service on First/Biz Domestic/Caribbean. However, attentive FA’s always get a Starbucks gift card and a thank you from us. I do so miss the ‘glory days” before we retired and the WuFlu came along.
Don’t waste your time worrying about airline service. Have you been to a post pandemic ED? The new normal is downright scary.
It’s the reason Delta is prosperous to all Employees. Personally, I hate Unions that represent F/A’s. Sometimes you have to take your training pants off and give 100% to keep the Airline afloat.
You’s asked for a Union, and now have to live with it until the Contract is void.
The FAA required flight attendant minimum. crew is one flight attendant for every 50 SEATS. Not one flight attendant for every 50 PASSENGERS. There is a HUGE difference .
Union wants to put more rude lazy AA flight attendants onboard. Why the ones in now are bad enough.
@michael – we are saying the same thing, passenger capacity = seats (I am not suggesting per actual number of bodies on board)
We are not saying the same thing.. you said the requirement is one flight attendant for every 50 passengers. This is incorrect. It indicates that if there were 49 passengers on a 777 that seats 400 only one flight attendant would be required. (One flight attendant for every 50 passengers) so not sure what you mean when you say we are saying the same thing
Just completed a biz class LAX/LHR flight last week on AA. Done this and others to Asia hundreds of times. On both legs they speed rush the dinner so they can sit and do nothing for the next 10 hours. Zero engagement with any of the passengers. In my opinion 11 FA’s on a 777 300 is overkill.
Oh my! Talk about a group of commenters that don’t even travel, can’t find their way out of a paper bag and probably have zero friends or family. These comments say so much about yourselves and not a thing about me or any flight attendant I know. Very scary and sad.
Why does it take months to settle these minor disputes?
Next time you fly, time how much time the Flight Attendants actually spend in the cabin, let alone performing on any sort of passenger service activity. My estimate would an average of about 25% on a fight with anything other than beverage service. Gimme a break…if they are so overworked quit and get another job.
We just recently flew on Delta from Atlanta to Amsterdam in business class. Horrible service. We waited over an hour to have our trays collected. Service was poorly executed by all flight attendants on both sides of the aisle. Meals were just ok. Nothing to write home about. Meals were just given to us without any “real” connection with customers and it certainly wasn’t “welcoming”. I witnessed 4 customers actually put their trays on the floor and go to the rest room. Breakfast was a mirror imagine of dinner. I did speak to the flight leader flight attendant and she said that Delta is now sending out their planes with minimum flight attendants. She did apologize though. We flew back on KLM. Wow!! Totally different level of service including meals. Long story short. If I have to fly outside of the U.S. I will always choose a foreign national if one is available. It really is a race to the bottom with these U.S. airlines.
It is hard to be sympathetic to the FAs. I always pay for First/Business. Less than half the time receive a pre flight beverage. On 2 hour or longer
Flights it is fairly common they stay seated 30 minutes into the flight to minimize how much service they provide in First. They spend a generous amount of the rest of the time flight chatting in the galley or looking at their phones. I fly overseas on other carriers and the service provided even in coach is vastly superior. I was on a Qantas 1 hour flight Sydney to Brisbane. FA apologized that they only had a snack and beverage in the main cabin due to the short flight. Contrast that on AA where you will likely hear there is only a water service in the Main Cabin or no service at all on a short flight. I always express sincere gratitude when FAs provide good service and stony silence as I deplane when service is poor.
There is no comparison to day with the service and work that FAs did even a few years ago and light years removed from 20+ years ago when it was actually enjoyable to fly.
@Mark T, it’s about to get worse. Pull some more F/As off the flight and you’ll be waiting 2 hours to get your tray picked up. Bend your head way back and look at the C suite. They could care less if you have a good flight. They have you shoved in your seat and the door is closed on time. That’s all they care about.
@Bob, you can chalk that bad service up to social media and all your fellow commenters. Do you know how many F/As read these comments? A HUGE amount. They get kicked in the teeth everyday over and over and over and over and over and over again by idiots on here. You think that really leads to better service? The opposite. How would you like to go to work every day knowing everybody you’re helping or serving thinks you deserve a pay cut and are lazy, worthless, etc. Service is going to continue to get worse until people grow up and stop acting like 15 years old in mommy’s basement throwing out mean, hateful comments.
At Mark T: “If I have to fly outside of the U.S. I will always choose a foreign national if one is available. It really is a race to the bottom with these U.S. airlines.”
Retired and left the U.S. Haven’t stop flying. As logical, I fly on European Airlines. Per choice, I fly only biz or FC. As you now know, the diff. in service, food and beverage service, and ATTITUDE is completely different and better than the “big 3” in U.S. Oh, and remember E.U. rule 261. If it hits the fan, you can get prompt refunds/credits/added compensation. And, with a smile.
Wow, American’s response is breathtakingly stupid. Where to start?
they offer much less service than they did 20 years ago, so staffing levels should be lower
American actually brags about giving worse service now?
current staffing levels still allow flight attendants to take contractual breaks
AA expects applause for not violating the law?
reduced staffing matches competitors
Ah, the old “They did something wrong first so that makes it ok for me to do it.” argument. I tried that one at three years old and it failed then and isn’t any better now.
the airline paid ghost riders to watch nearly 200 flight attendants in action (and documented that they aren’t overworked)
The FA’s managed to not look angry or flustered in public because of the extra work so that means that everything is fine? Apparently American doesn’t understand the concept of professionalism.
Does American’s brass even look at this stuff before it’s disseminated to the public? This stuff reads like a C- paper from a first year college student. Better to have no response than this ridiculous attempt at rationalization.
@Flyer1, I agree with your comment about the C suite. Parker did more damage to the flying experience than probably anyone involved in the aviation industry. Shoving seats closer and closer, cutting food quality and service, and so forth. It is what happens when government allows industries to become virtual monopolies. By controlling the HUBS, airlines have that virtual monopoly and with only a handful of “full-service airlines” (laughter is appropriate at the idea of Full Service) it is a constant race to the bottom of who can cut service and inspire the rest to follow suit. Plus, the airlines, if they really wanted to, could fix poor service. They reported using ghost riders for this project, but if they used ghost riders for quality control, they could soon weed out the poor-quality people and reward the good ones.
I disagree that hearing criticism should be a morale killer. If you are one of the FAs that takes pride in their work and provides good service, you should be angry with your co-workers that are giving FAs a bad reputation. You should take pride in your own work ethic. Sugar coating it or ignoring the reality that service on board is poor on the majority of flights is not constructive. If you are the above average FA you would think the public is fine with lousy service so, why am I working harder than the kid playing games on their phone the whole flight.
I used to fly even when driving was the same time or even less. I enjoyed flying and the aspect of I could relax or work during the trip. Now I drive a lot more, even if it takes longer, and the sole reason is flying is not fun because the service is not there the majority of the time. The C suite and FAs both need to know FAs are the face of the airline in most instances and frequent business travelers like myself place a great deal of importance on service.
If you are a FA reading this and do great work, Thank You!!! If you are one of the others, go find another job because you do not belong in the service industry.
Flyer1 – gobble gobble, coke machine.
If 2 out of a 100 FA are bad apples then so be it.
If 98 FA don’t fix the 2 bad apples then
You have 100 bad apples
Even if the flight attendants got everything they want, there is ZERO chance that they will strive to provide passable service. They will continue to sit in the galley and complain.
They deserve nothing more than what they have now.
Passengers should keep taking pictures of the lazies in order to flush them out.
It’s not solely the Union’s fault, there is something fundamentally wrong with the service culture specifically at AA. Alaska has long had unionized FA’s, but they are among the best in the country.
This has bitten AA in the butt several times. Minimum crew out of the country and 1 FA gets sick or injured, flight has to cancel. Another moronic decision from management.
I would like to see foreign airlines able to fly domestic routes in the U.S. I would also like to see a limit on the percentage of gates any airline can control in an airport. AA tries their best to make sure if DFW is your HUB your only choice is AA. The EU has a limit on any one airline controlling all or a majority of the gates at an airport. If Biden really wanted to help air travel consumers they would look at breaking up concentration at the airports and other monopolistic behavior. Not wasting time on rules about fees where the airline’s cost of complying with the rules will just be passed on to the consumer in the form of higher ticket prices. For every consumer dollar saved under these new rules consumers will pay $1+ in compliance cost to the airlines. The consumer always pays for regulation.
Can the Wi-Fi handle even more people playing Candy Crush on the plane?
@Frank, the life full of hate you must have experienced. I’m so sorry it couldn’t have been different for you.
I just booked FC from PHL to SFO on AA for a flight in June. I do not normally fly AA. The comments above make me wonder (and worry) that it’s going to be a pretty sub-par experience. I’ll find a way to report back on it, but if I truly feel, after the flight, that the service, etc., was bad, I will definitely mention it personally to AA people before I even leave the airport in San Francisco.
I usually fly JL, NH (or one stops on SQ or CX) on routes where AA competes against them.
I laugh at the lie that AA’s competitors are similarly staffed!
Over the last four or five years in any conversation I have been with anyone discussing airline’s flight attendants, the universal opinion is that American has the worst. Usually in every conversation someone tells a story about their behavior or lack of service. I do not know what the best course of action would be to correct this but just throwing money at every American FA will not be the solution. They need to eliminate all the bad ones but unfortunately that is where the union steps in to protect their jobs.
A few months ago I going from LGA to DAL on Southwest I experienced my first poor performing Southwest flight attendant. Besides his frowning face he did the absolute minimum as far as service. So every airline has bad apples, but American has the biggest basket of them.
@Leroy, standing around talking about flight attendants? You must have some boring friends and attend boring parties. That’s like standing around talking about all the engineers or surgeons I know. Boring. If you all are that interested, I believe a few of the regionals are hiring. People really need to focus on their own jobs and how badly they’re performing in them. Quit worrying about everyone else.
@Flyer1: So you are saying (admitting?) that your fellow drink-pourers intentionally do their jobs poorly to spite anonymous people on the Internet?
Just when I thought flight attendants couldn’t be more childish and deserving of contempt, they find a new low.
This comment section is so gross. I did not realize there are so many unhinged, entitled, angry (!!!) people flying around these days. Y’all sound borderline dangerous with your contempt for FA’s- maybe take a deep breath and book another airline if AA’s service upsets you this much? …Are y’all okay out there?
Thank you William F! Flight attendants do a lot more than just sling cokes! We deal with so many other things! Illness…angry passengers etc! And are also safety professionals if something were to happen! I know a lot of my coworkers are lazy and rude but there are ALOT of us that take pride in our jobs and treat customers the way they want to be treated!!!!! Some of these comments are just deplorable!!!! We are trying to make a living just like everyone else and we haven’t had a cost of living raise in years!!!!! Flying on a plane isn’t just about service it is also about safety!!!!
Gary… Why do you care. You’re a Big Boy Now. Stop acting like a Toddler.
And someone is giving you info that shouldn’t be shared. We all know.