Tag Archives for union.
These aren’t factory workers during the industrial revolution. On average Air France pilots earn around $160,000 with senior captains frequently earning in excess of $250,000 per year. French per capita GDP is only just over half that of the United States, so these numbers are even more impressive.
Frontier Airlines’ new scheduling strategy aimed at improving operational efficiency and ensuring planes return to base nightly has sparked significant backlash from flight attendants, who decry the loss of per diems, increased lodging costs, and daily commutes as shifts toward a more conventional job structure away from their traditional, travel-centric roles.
Southwest Airlines’ flight attendants have secured a landmark four-year contract valued at $6.3 billion, featuring unprecedented benefits including $20,000 retroactive pay, quality of life enhancements, and a set of provisions that position them at the forefront of the industry’s labor standards. It sets a bar for negotiations at United and American – and creates a new challenge for Delta.
On average, cabin crew at Southwest will receive nearly $20,000 when the contract is ratified, representing pro-rated raises they would have gotten had the deal gone into effect in 2019.
I flew American Airlines on Saturday and was reminded how much of a difference a great crewmember makes to the flight experience – even on a very short flight.
American Airlines flight attendants haven’t had a raise since 2019. Their contract became amendable, but negotiations were first delayed by the pandemic and have been slow since. And the value of their wages have been eroded by inflation.
The airline has offered to match the top of the industry – what non-union Delta pays its flight attendants. The union has rejected this. Now American has made an intriguing new offer.
American Airlines flight attendants have a status conference with the National Mediation Board this upcoming Wednesday over whether the federal government will allow them to strike.
And flight attendant social media is lighting up over an incident on board a flight from Dallas to Denver this week where the airline’s Senior Vice President of Inflight and Premium Guest Services, Brady Byrnes, was traveling with his family and reportedly wrote up the crew for failing to deliver proper service.
Last Spring United Airlines introduced wings with crew names and pronouns. These replaced separate nametags and crew wings. And the flight attendants union filed a grievance – not against the option to display pronouns, but because they say this jeopardized flight attendant safety.
American Airlines flight attendants want bigger raises than American is offering and they want retro pay back several years, like pilots (who have far more leverage).
So while the airline is holding its Investor Day on Monday afternoon, flight attendants will be holding a protest on Wall Street. The location is meant to symbolize investors, or something? Plus it’s New York, so maybe there will be media.
140 members of the House of Representatives have written to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian telling him to stay out of union organizing efforts at the airline, and remain neutral. This is dumb.
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 »
