Flight attendants at United Airlines are to be awarded a profit-sharing bonus worth more than 5% of their annual earnings, but rather than celebrating the payout, many crew members have reacted with anger after the Chicago-based carrier reported bumper earnings on Wednesday.
With stalled contract negotiations dragging down wages, flight attendants say they feel ‘disrespected’ by the profit-sharing scheme, which pales in comparison to the 10% bonuses that crew members at Alaska Airlines and Delta are set to receive.
The union that represents United’s flight attendants, however, has been forced to jump to the airline’s defense, saying that the bonus percentage is actually down to a calculation that it negotiated with the company.
Explaining why the bonus has dropped from 9.1% in 2024 to 5.29% in 2025, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) says that the bonus isn’t based on the overall profit that United makes but rather the difference in profitability year over year.
The bonus was significantly higher in 2024 because United was enjoying a recovery from the doldrums of the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in a big difference in profitability between 2022 and 2023.
While United’s financial performance was nothing short of stellar in 2024, the difference in profitability was still smaller than in the preceding year and that means a smaller profit-sharing bonus.
Nonetheless, the union admits that flight attendants are counting on this year’s profit sharing, not as a nice-to-have bonus but as a “financial bridge in the midst of a national inflation crisis.”
“To management, profit sharing is just a financial metric,” the union told its members after they started to react with despair to Wednesday’s profit sharing announcement.
“To Flight Attendants, it’s a recognition of the collective effort and commitment we bring with us to the line every day. Our workforce deserves a fair share that truly reflects our contributions to United’s success.”
The union does, however, believe that United’s current financial and operational success will give it more clout in ongoing contract negotiations to demand an “industry-leading” contract.
So far, the two sides remain far apart on a number of important issues – not least, how much flight attendants at the airline are worth in terms of a pay raise.
AFA wants United to bump flight attendants by 28% to make up for four years of lost pay raises, followed by a 4% raise every year thereafter. The airline has dismissed this demand and is only willing to offer similar pay raises, which were recently ratified at American Airlines.
United has also refused to consider a ratification bonus, retroactive pay, or a new concept of ‘ground duty pay,’ which would see flight attendants earning money whenever they are wearing their uniform in the airport.
In addition, the airline has also allegedly asked for sweeping concessions from flights, including reducing rest periods during layovers, making flight attendants work longer duty days, and introducing a minimum amount of flying hours for crew members to access medical benefits.
At the very least, United’s flight attendants can console themselves with the knowledge that they once again get a much bigger profit-sharing bonus than their peers at American Airlines, who were awarded a bonus of just 1.1% for the second year in a row.
