American Airlines flight attendants based at its Los Angeles crew base were least likely to vote in favor of a new five-year contract according to figures released by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) which represents crew members at the Dallas Fort Worth-based carrier.
The ballot on the tentative agreement closed last Thursday, and overall, 87% of eligible flight attendants voted to ratify the contract, setting in motion an immediate pay rise of between 18% and 20.5% which flight attendants will start earning from early October.
How flight attendants voted for the contract did, however, vary between the airline’s various bases, and it has now been revealed that only 69% of crew members based in Los Angeles approved the agreement.
In contrast, nearly 94% of flight attendants in Chicago and 93% of crew members in Philadelphia voted in favor of the new contract. At the airline’s home hub in Fort Worth, Texas, 88% of flight attendants voted to ratify the contract.
One of the reasons that American Airlines flight attendants in Los Angeles may have been less likely to vote in favor of the contract is the carrier’s patchy loyalty to California.
For example, in late 2022, American Airlines decided to close its crew base in San Francisco resulting in the displacement of 400 flight attendants. Rather than allowing these displaced crew members to move to their next closest base in Los Angeles, the airline said this wouldn’t be possible as they had no plans to grow their presence in the city.
Although Los Angeles isn’t the smallest flight attendant base within the American Airlines network (with around 1,500 current flight attendants based in the city), it is incredibly senior and very few new hire flight attendants join the base.
Earlier this year, we exclusively revealed that the most junior flight attendant to a regular schedule (known as ‘holding a line’) joined the airline all the way back in 1989.
The five-year contract should result in average pay rises of nearly 33% over the course of the agreement, according to the flight attendant union, who had threatened to take its members on strike unless American Airlines met its demands for big pay hikes.
Along with the immediate pay raise of between 18% and 20.5%, flight attendants will receive a 2.75% raise after year one, a 3% pay raise after years two and three, and a final 3.5% pay raise in the fifth and final year of the agreement.
Flight attendants will also earn boarding pay and a slew of other lifestyle improvements which were agreed during more than five years of bargaining.
Of nearly 26,000 flight attendants who were eligible to take part in the ballot, around 6% chose not to cast a vote.
Lifestyle improvement will include the following:
1. Offering a pre-departure beverage to first-class passengers is at your discretion.
2. You are not obligated to ask first-class passengers if they would like another drink after serving the first one.
3. If a first-class passenger does not order a drink during the initial ask, you do not need to follow up later.
4. You may expedite service in the economy cabin. If passengers aren’t paying attention, it is their responsibility.
5. You will have at least 30% of the flight time to sit down and use your phone.
6. On aircraft with a galley privacy curtain, you may spend as much time there as desired.
7. There is no requirement to smile or greet passengers as they board.
8. Assisting elderly or handicapped passengers with their luggage is discouraged and may result in consequences.
9. Employee bonding is encouraged on overnight flights; feel free to converse in the galley to get to know your coworkers.
10. We will not be replacing metal cart latches with quieter alternatives; continue using them as needed.
11. Unless legally required, you are not obligated to distribute water during tarmac delays.
12. Empathy or sympathy toward passengers is not expected.
13. Despite rumors, we cannot hold you accountable in a way that would lead to termination; contact your rep if needed.
14. Gate agents will attempt to upgrade you to first class on non-revenue or deadhead flights when possible.
15. There is no expectation for the presentation of business class meals on long-haul flights; prioritize speed.
16. On aircraft with more than four lavatories, one may be locked for employee use and marked as out of service.
17. With the pilot’s permission, service may be stopped with more than 45 minutes left in the flight for any reason.
18. You are not required to verify others’ internet functionality if a single passenger reports an issue before resetting the system.
19. You will receive a list of untraceable acronyms and excuses to address most potential issues.
20. You are not obligated to assist passengers with dietary restrictions or special meal requests beyond the initial meal distribution.
21. Routine checks for passenger comfort, such as blanket or pillow distribution, are no longer necessary.
22. Responding to call buttons is optional; use your judgment on whether to address them.
23. Collecting trash or keeping the cabin tidy outside of scheduled clean-ups is no longer required.
24. Providing assistance or directions to passengers for their connecting flights is not mandatory.
25. You are not expected to offer compensation or service recovery gestures, such as complimentary drinks, for service failures.