As travel ramps up faster than new hiring, American Airlines faces a dour new reality: it is constantly behind the eight ball when it comes to operations. With no room for error, a local storm can ripple through the system canceling thousands of flights, as we have witnessed over the last week. In an attempt to stave off repeat performances during the holidays, American Airlines is wisely incentivizing flight attendants to step up using the most persuasive arrow in its quiver, the green one: money.
Smart Move: American Airlines Bribes Flight Attendants To Boost Holiday Work Hours
Live and Let’s Fly has previously reported that flight attendants at American Airlines are growing weary. It goes beyond extra hours and gets to sudden schedule changes and route assignments that disrupt plans and lead to additional fatigue. But it goes even beyond that when hotel reservations and transportation are not properly lined up, making a bad situation even worse.
Rather than promise that it will try harder, American Airlines has reached out to flight attendants in a pair of memos on Friday, promising them triple pay for working holiday flights.
The memo, as noted in The Wall Street Journal, promises two big incentives to work:
- 150% pay over peak periods during the holiday season
- Triple holiday pay for those who have no absences between November 15th – January 2nd
That second point is sure to raise objections and even charges of bribery in that it encourages flight attendants to come to work sick. No doubt that it does, but that’s on flight attendants, not American Airlines. The 300% pay bonus will also encourage many to come to work who may otherwise just stayed with family and friends for the holidays.
Think about making 3x/month your current salary over a 47 day period. Although the two-week lead-time is small, I’d certainly move appointments and obligations to make that happen.
And this is what American Airlines should have done from the start. Asking flight attendants to volunteer for extra work or endure longer duty assignments out of sense of duty and obligation is a tough sell when you can’t even arrange hotel shuttles and you also force flight attendants to be mask enforcers onboard and further pit them against passengers by offering no food or alcoholic beverages for sale onboard. This is the smarter way.
CONCLUSION
Maybe I’m too optimistic, but I think this plan will work well. I think flight attendants at American Airlines will step up and even with the continuing pilot shortage and unpredictable weather, this will help operations run more smoothly during the holiday period.
How is this going to to effect other American Airlines employees who also must work during the holidays? Will they now call in sick for not also getting these extra wages?
Exactly, there needs to be an incentive program for ALL the other work groups including Dispatch operations, any work group that is crtical to day to day operations.
The main reason not reported is that thousand of flight crews refuse to comply with the unproven vaccinations so a lot have quit.
All smoke and mirrors as usual. I was a senior flight attendant and retired during COVID–why?? cause American airlines gave us an offer we could not refuse because we knew they were desperate to skim off from the top–those of us who earn top pay. I would not have ‘retired’ from the job I loved if they had not offered these ‘carrots’ to make us leave.
Now its the same–AA finds itself in a bind and to satisfy the traveling public they MUST DO SOMETHING to keep the planes flying–and $$ talks. What I’m saying is, its only when AA is UP AGAINST A WALL THAT THEY DO SOMETHING FOR THEIR EMPLOYEES. SAD–and always HAS BEEN–so yes they surely will in the short term get the flight attendants to bite–why wouldn’t they–you work very HARD FOR THE $$–and these days even harder–between the cheap flights offered and during the holiday season, masks and vaccines–well shake it all up –and good luck all. Usually I would be right in the middle of it!! Now I’m a bystander–nothing changes really! Its a tough business and very hard on the people who do it–not for the faint of heart! Just sayin’……..
if placing pay increase in the contract is a bribing, what do you call local gov paying $100 to get vaccinated
Or what about performance bonuses for contractors (i.e., if you finish the construction project early, you get a bonus for each day early)? Is that also bribery?
Re this sentence:
“That second point is sure to raise objections and even charges of bribery in that it encourages flight attendants to come to work sick.”
The WSJ didn’t raise any objections or such charges. Did you do a legal analysis that you care to share to substantiate your allegations? If not, your language is sure to raise objections and even charges of defamation.
I would be most concerned about crew fatigue and the ability to function properly
in event of an emergency. Has maximum duty time been compromised?