Tag Archives for flight attendants.
The airline maintained that social distancing on board wasn’t necessary because of HEPA air filtration, downward air flow, cleaning regimens and masking. Yet they continued blocking some seats to maintain distance for flight attendants.
That policy ended, too, on May 1.
American Airlines sent a memo to flight attendants on Monday called ‘Moments That Matter’ which encourages them to be prepared to avoid even slight delays that could stand in the way of exact on-time departures. Unfortunately for employee morale it came off as patronizing.
One tip, aimed at flight attendants who are scheduled to work reserve, has incited a anger – and a response from the union. American told flight attendants that they may need to skip meals.
After paying flight attendants not to work during the pandemic, thanks to government subsidies, American Airlines plans to fly more than 90% of the seats they flew domestically in the summer of 2019 this summer, and 80% of the seats they flew internationally.
American recalled all of their flight attendants from furlough to work these flights Even then that’s not enough.
At most U.S. airlines if a flight attendant provides great service it’s because of their own inner drive. It’s not because of any training program or incentives that the company has set up.
One of the most frustrating thing I hear from cabin crew all the time is about the small percentage of their colleagues who are slackers, who perform poorly and do as little work as possible (increasing the workload for everyone else). This is frustrating because there’s usually very little consequence. And seeing poor performers do just as well as those who provide exemplary service is demoralizing.
One of the more complicated legal issues I come across is what airline practices states are allowed to regulate, and which ones they aren’t. The Airline Deregulation Act makes issues of price, routes, and service a matter for federal regulation, seeking to avoid a ‘patchwork’ of 50 sets of rules for interstate travel.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, though, that California’s meal and rest break rules can be applied to airline crew. And that’s true even for crew who spend a majority of their work time outside the state.
American Airlines is bringing 11 pilots back to work after furlough. They’ll start requalification training on March 2, 2021. All of them have received a WARN Act notice, letting them know they may be re-furloughed at the start of April.
One thing that’s boosted how much money American Airlines keeps for itself out of the second bailout is voluntary leaves. They’ve convinced employees to go on unpaid leaves. Many thought they would collect unemployment, understanding that American would not contest these claims.
In an update from the head of the American Airlines flight attendants union, crewmembers were briefed on the union’s priorities, reflected in their discussions with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
This includes a third airline bailout, vaccine priority, and a “a comprehensive ‘No-Fly List’ to further address threatening and abusive behavior on the airplane”
American Airlines isn’t operating as many flights as it used to. They’ve downsized their Phoenix flight attendant base as well. US Airways needed a large contingent out of Phoenix before merging with American, because it was the airline’s only hub west of Charlotte. That’s no longer the case.
Many flight attendants who weren’t furloughed back in the fall have transferred to other cities. Those that remain are only getting assigned to flight schedules right now, versus working reserve, if they’ve been with the company for fifty years. You’d need a start date in the summer of 1971 to avoid working reserve right now.
American Airlines says they have too many employees to service passenger demand. The latest round of subsidies allows them to furlough again April 1. They haven’t sent out WARN Act notices yet. So they continue to being flight attendants back in for duty, with 1000 more told to begin April 1. They could find themselves working for just a matter of days.
In December Congress passed a $15 billion airline payroll bailout, requiring airlines to bring furloughed employees back to work and pay everyone December 1 through March 31, 2021. Per furloughed worker this was the most expensive jobs program in history (at over $1.1 million annualized per job) and American says it’s only spending 10% of the $3 billion it received on furloughed workers.
American’s flight attendants union says it was told to prepare for a new round of WARN Act notices, so we may be starting layoffs all over again – and they along with another union are asking the government for a third airline bailout. Maybe this time most of the money won’t go to shareholders and creditors instead of workers.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
