Crew News

AA WARNs 37% of Flight Attendants, 18% of Pilots of Furlough

Today we’re learning about the third airline issuing WARN notices or “Worker Adjustment or Retraining Notice,” to employees. ExpressJet and Republic have already done so. American Airlines has warned 37% of flight attendants and 18% of their pilots that their jobs are in danger of furlough on October 1, 2020.

October 1, 2020 will be a dark day in the airline industry. September 30 the funding from the CARES Act expires and airlines, not the government, will be taking over control of their payroll. A condition of accepting funding was keeping the workforce intact until September 30. Therefore, October 1, 2020 airlines are already planning layoffs.

AA’s notice also went out to: 36% dispatch employees, 30% passenger service agents, 26% Fleet service, 23% reservation agents, 22% maintenance, 15% flight crew training and 7% engineers for training simulators.

The 37% of AA flight attendants WARNed equates to 9,950 flight attendants, and the headcount for pilots peaks at 2500. Fleet Services received the second highest total of notices issued at 4500.

Bobby Laurie

His background in the travel industry dates back to November 2005 when he was initially hired as a flight attendant. After initially flying for six months for US Airways (now American Airlines) Laurie had started his move up the corporate ladder and held various positions within the industry before ultimately landing as an Analyst specializing in InFlight Policies & Procedures. Read More