American Airlines reduced the number of flight attendants working its widebody and premium domestic flights during the pandemic. Flight attendants weren’t serving extensive meals then, and there weren’t as many passengers on board.
When the pandemic ended, the airline didn’t restore staffing levels. The union complained that this violated their 2014 contract, and filed a grievance. They lost the staffing grievance this week – American Airlines has broad latitude to set flight attendant staffing levels and workloads, as long as cabin crew receive their required meal and rest breaks.
And I’m not sure the union actually cares? After all they just completed a new contract and didn’t push to put minimum staffing levels in it!
American Airlines Cut Flight Attendant Staffing
American began reducing onboard staffing before the pandemic. Then in 2020, 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
American Airlines Boeing 787-9
Here’s the current staffing levels:
American’s 787-9s are, today, staffed at more than the legal minimum and they want the FAA to allow them to operate with the fewest flight attendants legally allowed although they say this would be in situations where a crewmember was unable to fly.
Here’s What’s Changed Onboard
According to the union, the Purser and galley positions are especially overworked, and flight attendants are forced to shift work to different times during the flight and to rush service.
Generally what’s been eliminated is a dedicated galley flight attendant, who also now has to work an aisle. Some flight attendants now have to move between cabins. For instance, the purser now floats between first and business class, instead of performing first class service while the number five flight attendant stays in the galley. (The #7 flight attendant works the left aisle alone until the purser comes to assist.)
Service takes longer, but the work day of flight attendants isn’t longer, and flight attendants aren’t held to service standards for this. The arbitrator said that the decision would be different if there were timeliness standards for completing service! American’s expert report found that up to 40% of flight attendant on board time was ‘personal time’ inclusive of meals and breaks.
Why The Union Lost
The airline won its arbitration because reduced staffing itself doesn’t violate their union contract, because flight attendants still get their contractual and required breaks, and providing customers with less service is a business decision. American had argued,
- they offer much less service than they did 20 years ago, so staffing levels should be lower, for instance premium meal service has been degraded (e.g. flight attendants don’t cook eggs to order)
- 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
American argued that fewer flight attendants doesn’t mean worse service. They cite customer satisfaction scores having gone up since they reduced staffing! But that’s silly, they’re comparing satisfaction to the depths of the pandemic where service was mostly suspended. Meal service takes longer than it used to and their own expert report cites service tradeoffs like flight attendants not getting around to hanging jackets, yet says that even without missing tasks there’s still enough time for contracted meals and breaks.
The union said that a reasonable workload was set by initial staffing levels after the last (2014) contract went into effect, but the arbitrator said that was a reasonable workload but not the only reasonable workload.
Ultimately the 2014 contract set out the required rest and meal breaks that flight attendants receive. They still get those, and have personal time on top. They aren’t penalized for taking longer to provide service, and those are hours they’re being paid for. It’s up to the company whether a degraded service is something they want to provide, and that’s not a violation of the union contract – and also not something the union fought to change in its new contract, either.
They want more time to gossip, play with their phone, sit in a jump seat or just stare off into space. Remember 30 years ago every coach passenger on a LGA/ORD flight would have gotten a beverage service and hot meal service, and would have included tray pickup. Somehow those flight attendants survived.
Cabin crew in economy – like the meals and drinks they serve – is an obsolete anomaly. We don’t have ANY cabin crew in buses and only exceptionally minimal cabin crew on trains, both of which are far more dangerous means of conveyance than aviation. The real reason why airlines still have large cabin crews in economy is simply because of union rent seeking. I would gladly accept even a $5 discount to have half the cabin crew on my economy flight, and another $5 to skip the meals and carry my own bottle of water or soda aboard. Of course the last thought is illegal, just as the cabin crew Union wants it to be to justify their continued role in aviation.
All I learned is that there is a paid job title called “ghost rider.” How do I get in on this gig?
No AA fa has EVER been “overworked”….nor will they ever be.
I want to be a third party motivational speaker to ask the team for the ideas – and courage really – to drop staffing to FAA minimums on all aircraft.
So the old country song is true? AA literally has “Ghost Riders in the Sky”?
a person in power actually wrote that ‘mealtimes are taking longer?’ How?
We are approaching History of the World, Part 1 levels of tone deafness in the struggle between labor and capital these days.
Advisor to the king: “Majesty, the peasants feel you have no regard for them..”
King: “They are my people; I am their sovereign; I love them.. PULL!!”
*launches peasant from catapult as if it were a disc at a shooting range*
At least we can laugh at how absurdly cruel the situation is. Satire is all we have left as it is.
Former F/A . Just to respond to on of the comment’s about F/A never being overworked. Have you ever worked a 16 hour day where you changed aircraft 3 times did 3 bordings and 3 deplaning, that you did not get paid for. Then go to get in a van that’s not there to head to your 8 hr layover at a hotel that is 45 mins away not to mention getting some thing to eat and then get to your room only to find your key did not work or someone is in that room you are finally in your room and you get into bed for your nap because that 8 hrs is now 6 hrs and u have a early van time for your 2nd day of a 4 day and the second day is 12 hr day so your 6 hrs has now been cut into 5 hrs oh shoot I got to get up get showered and dressed so now that 5 is down to 3hrs and 45 mins….enjoy your rest oh and that is just day 1 of a 4 day… it’s because of people like the one that made the comment, why I left the airline industry. You have no conceptof what it takes to work the hours the days , and time away from family and friends, holidays, to serve entitled people like you. God forbid we have an emergency and this flight attendant that’s never been overworked is tasked with pulling your ass out of a burning plane filled with smoke and debris, to safety. Unless you have done that please don’t comment on something you obviously know nothing about…
One thing worth pointing out is that the FAs likely couldn’t have asked for different staffing minimums if they wanted a hope of success in the grievance arbitration. Bargaining demands like that would be evidence they don’t think they already have it contractually and would likely be the death knell to their grievance.
Just don’t complain when service takes longer. Also if there is a medical emergency onboard sorry you won’t be getting any service. Just don’t expect any personal attention or any special requests to be taken care of. The companies don’t care about their customers anymore. They only care about management pay. Fly with International carriers if possible!
The sky waitresses are lazy and don’t want to work just hand out the lean cuisines and go gossip on their phones. I miss the old days of the girls handing you a hot meal in coach and actually smiling at you like a human!
I fly about 3-4 a month. I have seen the decline in actual work by flight attendants the highest after COVID ended. From not helping passengers getting into the correct seats at boarding, not making sure people follow the correct etiquette while boarding and reboarding, to not serving water or refreshments on time during longer flights. I have seen. the worse decline in the work done by flight attendants from AA and JetBlue. Of course , I am generalizing , but the weaker service and time spent by FA doing nothing is noticeable. I have flown more than two Million miles in my life to be able to comment.
My take is that the #FAFO (F**k Around and Find Out) phase of Trumps win started early, years in the making. He is so PRO-BUSINESS that he will probably allow ALL PlANES to take off 1) over weight, and 2) with passengers strapped to the wing. You voted for him. Now see how bad it will get. Everything all the time will be his fault. Like MAGA says of Biden and Democrats, so we say of MAGA. This will happen in EVERY industry. Get ready. Cheers!
They just need one flight attendant who, in the advent of a crash, can get onto the overhead speaker system and tell everyone that they’re all f*****
I just did a non-stop from San Francisco to Philadelphia. The flight was maybe 80% full and we had one beverage service. 5 hour plus flight and you get one drink. Not sure what was going on the rest of the flight but it wasn’t like everyone was overworked.
Irrespective of the contract dispute . . . I had been a CK for several years, typically flying transcon and long-haul in F. Degradation of service and changes to the route network led to disappointment then frustration. I’m no longer CK and I only fly AA on transcon. AA will be absolutely fine without my revenue and I have the freedom of . . . a free agent..
Dang that contract!
Doesn’t the world know that the flight attendants are supposed to run the airline?
Scott said it all !!! As a former F/A, I’ve been there and DONE that.
Well, I’ve been working as a flight attendant since we served free meals in economy. Somehow, an 8 hour day has turned into a 14 hour day (now being paid for about 7 hrs)and is SO much harder than it used to be. So you might find me staring into space on a jumpseat once we’ve spent only an hour on your flight for a beverage service. We probably had a long day already before that short service. But as waiters and waitresses of the sky, I would like to say how many years I’ve heard someone shout, “Help! I think my husband is having a heart attack!” or, “ Is something wrong with the airplane? Quick! Call for the waiters and waitresses!!!”
I’m current American FA, and I don’t feel overworked at all. We all know what this job is, and if you don’t like it, you can leave and go work elsewhere. I am personally fine with “not getting paid” for every hour I’m away from home… the hourly flight rate has this kind of compensation included. I just made $105,000 in 2024, and still had at least 10 days off per month, and took 3 vacations overseas. To my colleagues, stop whining please, you”ll be ok.
Really would be great to have customer/embassador FAs.
Customers only trained to the bare minimum to work a, say, Newark turn out of Las Vegas on a Friday.
I’m with United. We’re staffed at FAA minimums which state 1 FA per 50 passengers. Seats taken or not.
Honestly, I’d love to see our upper management NOT get their crazy f’ng pat yourself on the back raises and throw that money at the catering and service product.
I was Continental. Our layovers were not always 8hr 45 minutes from debrief to check in (somewhere in that mix is actual time behind the door at a hotel). But it did happen.
Our days really were scheduled for 13hr duty. Actual 4 leg flight time yielded just shy of half that, and was actual pay. Boston turns out of Newark were always junior because you had no duty rig like UA. That was maybe 2 1/2 hrs pay. Because the flight time was maybe that or less.
Things have changed a lot.
I’d say I was paid way the hell less in 2015 and did way the hell more than I do now.
Every a**hole gets a raise. Somewhere along those lines something gets cut.
It is very easy to judge the fa’s when you don’t know what there job is.The day a fa has to do what they are trained for will be the worst day of your life. Service is often all anymore thinks about ,but safety is the job. One every flight the Cap says FA’s are primarily here for your safety. No one says there are too many paramedics at a fire house, so why are there too many FA’s on a plane? Help isn’t coming from anywhere else.
Retired AA here. I cannot believe the real Bob Crandall would have written this.
“ Bob Crandall says:
January 1, 2025 at 10:10 pm
The sky waitresses are lazy and don’t want to work just hand out the lean cuisines and go gossip on their phones. I miss the old days of the girls handing you a hot meal in coach and actually smiling at you like a human!”
Service takes longer, but the work day of flight attendants isn’t longer, and flight attendants aren’t held to service standards for this. The arbitrator
Service takes longer, but the work day of flight attendants isn’t longer, and flight attendants aren’t held to service standards for this. The arbitrator