Nearly 100 American Airlines flight attendants marched at DFW International Airport Tuesday, just a week ahead of one of the busiest travel holidays of the year — and it won’t be the last before the end of 2022.
Flight attendants carried signs reading “We are ready for rest” and “Tired of delays? We are too.”
It was one of 11 protests across the country at major American Airlines bases organized by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and it follows a year of labor unrest among nearly every major union at every major airline, even as the travel industry and economy go through major changes.
The issues are consistent between unions and airlines: Schedules, staffing and, of course, raises.
“In the last year, you’ve heard a lot of flight attendants asking, ‘Are we going to get a great raise?’ said Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. “We’re tired, we’re exhausted.”
Flight attendants also want pay for boarding, an issue that has emerged over the last three years as flight attendant duties increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most flight attendant contracts pay based on flying hours with a small hourly stipend for other hours between trips.
Just after Thanksgiving, dispatchers for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines plan to picket at Dallas Love Field near company headquarters, a rare move from one of the company’s smaller union groups.
Pilots for both American and Southwest have picketed this year at airports across the country, along with flight attendants for Southwest.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines has 24,000 flight attendants, about 4,000 fewer than before the pandemic, even though flying is coming back near 2019 levels, the union said.
“American’s flight attendants are the best in the business, and like all our team members, deserve to be paid well and competitively,” said a statement from American Airlines spokeswoman Lindsey Martin. “We continue to meet regularly with the Association of Professional Flight Attendants to reach an agreement that benefits both our flight attendants and operation, and we respect the right of our flight attendants to participate in informational picketing. Today’s picketing will have no impact on our operation.”
Airline employees from flight attendants to customer service workers have keyed in on customer pain around delays and cancellations to push their own points. Across the industry through August, more than 21% of flights have been delayed and nearly 3% have been canceled, more than any year except 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns forced airlines to axe most flights from April to June, according to Department of Transportation statistics.
Airline complaints to the Department of Transportation are up 320% over pre-pandemic levels and the White House has made a point of targeting air carriers for practices that are unfriendly to consumers.
Flight attendants and pilots alike say better scheduling practices can fix those problems, especially during periods of high cancellations when staffing is in flux and recovery is restricted because crews are out of position or out of hours to fly.
Erik Harris, a Philadelphia-based flight attendant and treasurer of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said employees are frustrated and morale is low.
“Everyone is exhausted and it’s even harder when you have cancellations and delays that ruin your schedule,” Harris said. “Our airline and management talked about returning to operational reliability, one of the ways to do that is definitely better rest, more flexibility in the schedules.”
American Airlines flight attendants have been negotiating with the company for nearly four years, Hedrick said. The two sides are likely months away from a deal and plan to start talking about raises in January.
