American Airlines Flight Attendants Voice Discontent With Airline Leadership

American Airlines flight attendants have expressed growing dissatisfaction with the airline’s current leadership.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the labor union representing American Airlines flight attendants, has called for a change in leadership after the airline’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings fell short of industry expectations. 

Flight Attendants Say American Airlines Is Falling Behind Competitors

At the center of the union’s argument is the belief that American Airlines is falling behind its competitors. In a statement released Tuesday, January 27, the APFA said that American Airlines is falling behind its competitors. 

The union argues that compared to Delta and United, American Airlines is a distant third. With their profit-sharing bonus affected, flight attendants are understandably frustrated. 

The APFA said, “This is no longer an anomaly, but rather a pattern of failure under the leadership of CEO Robert Isom and the American Airlines Board of Directors.”

The union compared American and Delta’s revenues, which stood at $54.6 billion and $58.3 billion, respectively. While the figures appear close, Delta posted a pre-tax profit of $5 billion, compared to American’s $352 million.

The union said, “It is easy to see why employees, investors, and Wall Street are deeply concerned, and it is no surprise why CEO Robert Isom has ended all labor-management meetings, employee town halls, Crew News sessions, and, perhaps most telling, the question-and-answer session at today’s State of the Airline.” 

It added, “They don’t have answers, and the excuses have run out.”

Concerns Over Customer Experience

While the American Airlines flight attendants said that they’re happy to see the changes in the premium cabins, they called the economy class as “outdated, uncomfortable, and far from competitive”.

The APFA said, “For years, CEO Robert Isom and his team have solely focused on accountability, reliability, and profitability, ignoring investment in our product and the overall customer experience.”

The statement came after the airline struggled to bounce back to full operations following thousands of flight cancellations brought by Winter Storm Fern. 

American Airlines said, “We are grateful to our team members for their tremendous efforts this past weekend and this week as we’ve worked through this storm to take care of our customers — facing very difficult ramp conditions, gate congestion, challenges getting into work and close-in cancellations that are extremely disruptive for customers and team members, especially crew members.”