Alaska Airlines is considering scrapping some parts of its inflight service because morale amongst flight attendants has hit the “lowest ever within recent memory”. The Seattle-based airline recently rolled back some of its pandemic-era inflight cutbacks despite opposition from the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) which had spent “hours upon hours” in meetings with airline management trying to convince them to maintain a reduced inflight service.
Jeffrey Peterson, president of the Alaska Airlines branch of the flight attendant union told members on Wednesday that Alaska management appeared “profoundly out of touch with flight attendants” after the carrier made a series of pandemic changes despite the union’s objections.
Peterson suggested a number of immediate changes Alaska Airlines could make to improve flight attendant morale, including reducing the number of meal choices in all cabins and cancelling the planned reintroduction of a third beverage cart service on certain longer flights.
The union would also like to see Alaska reduce the choice of pre-order items and cap the number of passengers allowed to order pre-order food because the current system was leading to flight attendants spending an “extended time in the cabin”.
The union cited the Omicron variant and other possible future pandemic developments for wanting to reduce the time that flight attendants spent interacting with passengers in the cabin.
Alaska Airlines has already told the union that it is actively reviewing all of the concerns raised by the union, as well as the union’s suggestions to cut back service.
Last month, the union wanted flight attendants that “management and AFA are philosophically apart on the potential risks that Flight Attendants face as a result of expanding onboard service in the current environment.”
“The health and safety risks posed by additional interaction time with passengers and increased challenges with enforcing the federal mask mandate are likely only to be amplified with more food and beverage items being offered on the aircraft.”
The union remains concerned about the “increasingly hostile” interactions that flight attendants must have with passengers over the federal face mask mandate, as well as “continued anxiety over COVID transmission”.
To make matters worse, Peterson claims the airline is “missing the mark” with its approach to flight attendants because of an “unrelenting focus on an unachievable absence rate”.
Introducing a “$$$” holiday incentive scheme to encourage flight attendants to show up for work over the holiday season, Peterson suggests would be one way for Alaska management to improve flight attendant morale. In November, American Airlines offered flight attendants a potential bonus of 300 per cent pay if they showed up for work as scheduled over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday period.
God forbid people have to work… My heart breaks for them.
What a joke – the customers are speaking clearly and they want the meal choices and service
There’s no shortage of people who want to be a flight attendant
I am a long time AS flyer (million miler) as such have witnessed many changes over the years but the core of AS was always in tack. In the past few years I have seen that tremendous core of AS diminish and that is sad. Looking at AS today I really have a hard time seeing the current management team continuing that Northwest/Alaska spirit that one could always count on. This is not the airline that Bill Ayers worked so hard to build followed by Brad Tilden. I just don’t think they do.
I can understand “SMR’s” reaction perhaps they are not a regular on AS for me if the FA’s are this disenchanted there is something wrong at the top. One can only hope this self inflicted wound leads to the ultimate demise of AS as an airline.
Bahaha. Poor little scared snowflakes who dont want to work. For god sakes, quit being cowards and live your life! This nonsense is NEVER going away so it’s time the world buckle up and deal with it.
How about just pulling the flight attendants all together?
Wait a minute here! The vast majority of flight attendants STAND behind the mask mandates on flights but then don’t want anything to do with enforcement of the mandate on there flights in fear of confrontation? These flight attendants seem forget there place in the food chain within the airline. They have been given to much leash and now here we are.
“THEIR”
You have profoundly missed the mark on the true story. Please consider some journalistic integrity before publishing a hit piece such as this. Consider also the company was forced into arbitration with its pilots and these taking points you’ve so blatantly skewed come as Alaska is preparing to enter negotiations on an already extended contract with its flight attendants. The nuances here are not subtle. The service onboard is an extremely small part of the demoralizing environment the flight attendants you are trying to shame are facing. It’s unfortunate your click bate will get traffic from your exploitative headline. Do better. Those flight attendants will still jump in to save your life at 35,000 feet when you need them regardless of the disingenuous aspersions you cast on them.
As a flight attendant you people have no idea how challenging it is to enforce the mask mandate and the removal of a mask to briefly eat or drink. If you people would comply this wouldn’t be an issue. It has nothing to do with us wanting to work. Additionally you people probably haven’t had to watch your father die as I have from covid. Our concerns about exposure are legitimate and warranted. Thank god there is a union in place to protect us from people who act is if the plane is your private jet. Just because you pay our salaries doesn’t give anyone the right to treat us like crap.
If the flying public wouldn’t be such jerks about the mask mandate, and act like ladies and gentlemen inflight, perhaps the FA’s would be more interested in being the Alaska Spirit. And there is no reason that one would need two meals and three drink services over six hours or less. That’s just overweight America speaking. If you want food or a drink, pick it up on the food cart before entering the plane, like they do in Europe. Pack your garbage out on exit. – FA’ s are safety officers, not your personal assistants. They work hard to keep you safe in this hyper self-absorbed world.
Alaska Airlines is the worst. In the last 5 years Alaskas New Management have turned there back on safety and put the customer’s last.
“Their”
Then don’t be a flight attendant. You’re nothing special.
I’ll just bet that if the company offered all of you $10 more per block hour, your covid fears, stress or whatever dramatic way you’d like to described it will suddenly disappear. You’re CUSTOMER SERVICE employees who happen work onboard and receive MINIMAL basic first aid training. Let’s not get confused here. Leave the grandiose visions at home or in the hotel bar.
You’ve done next to NOTHING for the last 20 months. If you’re still afraid then QUIT and let some young, eager and helpful person just starting out take your place. Believe me, we’d appreciate that too
Craig, exactly my argument its not “our” Alaska Airlines anymore. As for the whining FA’s hey we all work we all are patiently exposed to the Covid / variants. Having said that I agree you are subjected to a lot of BS from some passengers but that’s sadly is our life today you see this on the roads in stores etc.
We all have to suck it up and try to get through all this together. It would help if we had an administration that does something rather than blame others