An employment letter that American Airlines (AAL) sent to a new hire is going viral for all the wrong reasons. The job of a flight attendant just lost some of its glamor as the letter revealed that the starting salary for the position at the company is only slightly above federal poverty levels, which in 2024 is $15,060 for an individual household and $20,440 for a family of two.
The letter, which was leaked on Reddit, reveals that a new flight attendant at American Airlines will have a projected annual salary of “$27,315 a year before incentives and taxes.”
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“The employee is compensated hourly at a rate of $30.35 per flight hour,” reads the letter. “Compensation is subject to change based on adjustments to their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and actual hours worked. Any courtesy you can provide would be appreciated.”
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Flight attendants only get paid for the duties they perform onboard a flight after the aircraft door closes, and they typically work 65 to 85 flight hours each month, which doesn't include overtime, according to Indeed. Flight attendants also spend an additional 50 hours a month prepping airplanes before take off and after they land, which are duties they don't get paid for.
Many users commented under the Reddit post expressing their shock at the low starting salary that American Airlines offered to the new flight attendant.
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The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which is a union that represents American Airlines flight attendants, is currently urging the White House to authorize their right to strike after a 30-day cooling-off period as they negotiate a new contract with the airline that includes higher pay. It is illegal for airline workers to strike unless they get permission from the federal government to do so.
“Flight Attendants are the only employees at American Airlines who have not had a raise in the past five years,” read a May 8 press release. “Meanwhile, in 2023, AA CEO Robert Isom received a staggering $31.4 million pay package. New hire Flight Attendants at American Airlines start at just $27,000/year. Robert Isom’s compensation package is now 1,162 times that of a new-hire Flight Attendant, corporate greed at its finest.”
Recently, American Airlines reported “record first-quarter revenue” in its first-quarter earnings report for 2024. The airline generated about $12.6 billion in revenue during the quarter, which is a 3.1% increase from what it made during the same time period last year.
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