There are many travel-related contract negotiations going on right now, many of which aren’t going so well. However, one airline can now breath a sigh of relief as American Air FAs ratify their new contract and scoring them a large pay increase.
In recent months, both Alaska Airlines and American Airlines have reviewed contracts their unions negotiated on their behalf. As we all know, Alaska Airlines rejected their new contract, which included a bump in pay and boarding pay. American’s vote was next, and, as we no know, things went much better.
American Air FAs Ratify Their New Contract
In a vote involving 95% of eligible unionized flight attendants, American Air FAs ratify their new contract with 87% voting in favor. This new contract provides:
- An immediate pay increase of 18% for flight attendants with six years of service or less, while those with their thirteen years or more of service receive a 20% pay increase.
- Full retro pay
- Boarding pay
- New flight attendants will have to work straight reserve for two years before becoming eligible for
- Flight attendants can pick up trips at bases that aren’t the ones they’re stationed at, but it also minimizes their opportunities to transfer bases
- No snap-up provisions in case flight attendants at competing airlines receive a contract with better pay
- No provisions for pay increases once the current contract becomes amendable
- Work levels will remain as they have been since the pandemic began, even though service levels are closer to what they were before
If you see the points above and think that the new contract strongly favors more senior flight attendants, you’d be right. Working reserve is very undesirable, as you have no sense of normalcy, while their lower pay increase rate combined with their lower pay means their overall increase is much lower than what more seniors flight attendants are receiving.
Sure, boarding pay is a big win for more junior flight attendants. The union values this change as an 8.5% effective pay increase. However, the actual difference it will make depends on the kinds of routes being worked. In the case of newer flight attendants, they often work shorter flight, meaning they spend more time boarding, which will definitely help, but still is a far cry from what more tenured flight attendants will be receiving.
Final Thoughts
That American Air FAs ratify their new contract is probably a huge sigh of relief for both American management and passengers alike. The acceptance of this new contract takes the prospect of strike occurring in the near future off the table. Moreover, since the new contract is valid for five years, it’ll be quite some time before a flight attendant strike threatens to shut American down. Of course, other unions within the airline can have the same effect, but at least not any time soon.
On the flip side, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines flight attendants are still working on a new contract, while thousands of hotel workers across the country continue to fight for their demands, too. In fact, many of them went on a limited strike recently, and the prospects of them doing so again for a longer period of time remains a real threat.