American Airlines Flight Attendants Negotiated for Holiday Pay

In the last weekend of October, American Airlines recorded more than 1,600 flight cancelations. This served as a warning of what’s in store in the coming holidays. The carrier decided to offer flight attendants holiday pay that will convince them to work during the peak days.

Letter of Agreement

In a letter of agreement with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the airline and the union came up with an agreement that American will pay a one-time holiday pay premium of 150%. This is applicable on dates around both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Another option is to get a 300% holiday pay premium for having complete attendance between November 15 and January 2.

The agreement with the APFA also offers guaranteed seats for flight attendants who are going to commute to their scheduled flights. The APFA has around 24,000 members.

APFA President Julie Hedrick explained that “We wanted a dependable operation for our flight attendants and our customers”. She added that “The holiday peak period package we negotiated (provides) well-deserved relief for the flight attendants. Hedrick also said that flight attendants were “pushed to the max by long duty days and short rest”.

The APFA President wants their flight attendants who work on holidays to get proper compensation. She said that “Flight attendants are fatigued”. Hedrick elaborated that “they are exhausted—not just at American Airlines but flight attendants across the industry, as well as gate agents”.

Not Enough Elbow Room

When the pandemic started, airlines asked employees to take voluntary leaves or retirement packages. A few months later, airlines didn’t have enough manpower when travel demand returned. She said that crew schedules did not have “enough time for weather events”.

The Halloween weekend was problematic for American Airlines. High winds created an array of problems for the airline leading to staffing shortages.

Holiday Pay for Other Workgroups

Aside from flight attendants, other workgroups are also going to enjoy the holiday perks. American Airlines announced that maintenance, simulator engineers, fleet service, dispatchers, flight crew instructors, and agents will get a $1,000 bonus if they have perfect attendance from November 15 to January 2. Plus, agents who will work on peak days can get 1.5 times their pay.