My conversation with flight attendants on a recent American Airlines flight demonstrates the trust deficit with leadership and the lack of vision and respect that are necessary for AA to start seriously chasing United Airlines and Delta Air Lines.
Inside American Airlines’ Trust Deficit: What Flight Attendants Told Me
Yesterday I wrote about a letter from the union representing flight attendants at American Airlines calling for the removal of Robert Isom as CEO of AA. It wasn’t the first time a union at American Airlines has called for regime change and it certainly will not be the last.
The issue I’ve been toying with this week in my mind as think about AA’s pathetic profits for 2025 and its general malaise despite very meaningful investments over the last year is whether employees can be won, or is it like a relationship that has been so severely damaged that reconciliation is just not possible?
Let’s focus on the A321XLR, AA’s swanky new aircraft. When I wrote about the flight, I mentioned that I had extended conversations with all five flight attendants onboard during the flight. It was a five-hour daytime flight and I was curious about their impressions of the new aircraft and about their airline in general.
Let me first say that the flight attendants were rockstars on this flight…the service was very good: friendly and efficient, but with that charming American sense of familiarity that I think only the Irish come close to pulling off (for better, or for worse).
The flight attendants were very happy to share with me their thoughts about the new seat and AA in general and held nothing back. Sometimes in situations like this I err on the side of caution, holding back writing about such talk because I don’t want to get the FAs in trouble. But here I think it is instructive and it’s also indicative of a broader trend that demonstrates why I’ve come to accept the position that only a change in leadership can inspire a change in the rank and file.
FAs strongly dislike the A321XLR. Among the gripes:
- Narrow aisle
- Impossible to provide pre-departure beverages because there is no door 2L for boarding…all passengers must board through the front door (1L)
- Screens in business class flip out in a way that makes service much harder
- Bathrooms are small and premium economy passengers must go to the back of the aircraft: no mid-cabin lavatory like on the A321T
- Limited galley space and storage onboard
Flight attendants were passionate about this, but in a good way. One told me, “Why would they not ask us before designing this cabin?” I understand that flight attendants will not have veto power over cabin designs, but a bit of input would have been an olive branch and the points all strike me as valid.
As a business class passenger, the aisles are narrow and boarding was so crowded that indeed, there absolutely no opportunity for pre-departure drinks.
My conversations show that morale is down, but also show that these FAs care…they clearly cared. A couple of them went back to Eastern Airlines and had been flying for over 40 years…they did not hate their jobs and they did not hate their company. They struck me as sheep who had no shepherd…
CONCLUSION
And so perhaps that anecdote, small as it is, helps to demonstrate why there’s a huge disconnect between leadership and front line staff, the sort of division that does not exist at Delta and United, at least on any broad scale that I’ve observed.
I don’t think Isom is a bad guy…but every flight attendant I speak to (not just on this flight, but on many others over the last several months) is looking for a vision that we just don’t see being articulated from the top. Every FA thinks AA is moving in the wrong direction.
And so maybe it is time for a hard reset and a new leader who can cogently articulate a vision for the future in terms of operations, route map, fleet, service, and loyalty that will actually inspire FAs to and other front-line workers to embrace and support…
Just curious: did you get the OK from all of these FA’s to share the candid feedback they shared with you privately? I would hope so (and if not I would view it as an incredible betrayal). The details you provide here and elsewhere are enough to easily identify every single crew member, and puts them at great risk of retaliation and career-ending consequences (termination). If they said, sure, go ahead and post anything they said, well, then fine. Otherwise – wow.
Yes, I actually did…
They have union protections. They won’t face retaliation and certainly not termination.
Here are some other aircraft where AA FAs believe it is “Impossible to provide pre-departure beverages:”
-737-800
-737MAX8
-A321 Neo
-A321-200
-A320-200
-A319-100
-E170
-E175
-CR7
-CR9
So I guess it’s not an isolated problem.
Bingo!
Interesting; United FAs have served pre-flight drinks on all of the flights I’ve been on most of those aircraft types. It’s awkward because the FA is jockeying to serve drinks as passengers are boarding (and frankly I don’t see the point of a pre-departure drink amidst the organized chaos of hundred plus people coming aboard, No one in first is that thirsty).
In sports coaches/managers are often fired when they lose the respect of the players. The CEO of AA should be removed. Not only for the inability to work with and get the FAs to properly do their jobs but also due to the poor financials.
Everyone knows there are bad and good FAs, you need to be able to remove the bad ones who refuse to follow the procedures and instead just do their own thing.
And yeah, bathrooms on most all airlines should be outlawed and enlarged. I’m not a big person (5’10” 175 lbs) and I can barely move around in it and water goes everywhere due to the tiny, almost cup sized sink. It would be one thing if those were only on 1-2 flights but otherwise that is just crazy.
FAs need to do their job, management needs to improve greatly and you have to ban/severely punish people who misbehave on flights whether it is due to anger issues, alcohol, drugs or whatever. FAs and other passengers should not have to deal with that stuff.
Morale is down for nearly everyone, nearly everywhere (not just AA crews)… it’s the macro issues, combined with the micro-corporate greed. And this winter storm certainly didn’t help.
And for AA specifically, it’s 1-year since flight 5342, so, today of all days, yeah, ‘down.’
Years ago, Leo Mullin was hired as the CEO of Delta Air Lines. Leo is a nice guy. However, he surround himself with cronies that were way out of their element in the airline business. Leo is a banker…not an airline executive. Pass-engers were upset. The Delta family was upset The media was upset. Jerry Grinstein, chairman of the board, stepped in and fired Leo. Then, rehired Ed Bastian, et. al. Jerry suggested that anyone who wishes to leave the company…we wish you well and thanks for your service. To those who wished to stay…there will be salary cuts that EVERYONE will take. There’ll be restructuring and there might be some layoffs. However, Jerry’s guidance and a combined “promise” from Ed Bastian and Jerry that they would guide Delta and the employees through the wasteland and would make it up to everyone. If I read the news correctly, on Valentine’s Day, every employee got a share of $1.3 billion dollar profit sharing check that amounted to a month’s salary. So, American Airlines board…do the right thing, s**tcan Isom, get a new CEO who will kick ass. Give him/her the task of rebuilding employee trust. Make them accountable for their actions and their contributions to the company. Then…start rewarding them for their hard work. It won’t be an easy task but right now, American doesn’t have a lot of time left.
The most significant quote that I have seen attributed to Grinstein is:
“The bleeding stops. It always does.”
He knew how to focus people on the severity of the problem and become part of the solution.
THAT is what AA needs.
@Jerry – I mean, that’s pretty funny, although I might have enhanced expectations on a premium transcon flight than a 2-3 hour hop on the mainline fleet. Maybe they can leave a small bottle of prosecco and a plastic glass at each seat prior to boarding – pour it yourself, kids!
The XLR may look nice because it’s a shiny new plane, but let’s be clear, it’s a plane primarily designed for increased cargo capacity with the rear center tank integrated into the fuselage. AA could have at least added MCE seating like UA’s XLR LOPA, but nope, just jammed in 5 more economy seats instead (155 v 150 pax).
The root cause of my dissatisfaction with AA is the attitude of the vast majority of their flight attendants. Their root cause for dissatisfaction might be their management and pay; however, it is their absolutely abysmal attitude towards their paying customers that drives me to seek another airline for my travel (and after flying them weekly for MANY years, I can say confidently that I am not over-generalizing). So the next time you have a conversation with them, why not ask:
1. Why do the vast majority of AA flight attendants have a hatred scowl on their face when greeting and/or serving passengers?
2. Why do they rarely serve PDB’s in first/business (even when there is plenty of aisle room)? I’ve flown transcon 4 times already this month, all in first, and not once have I been offered a pdb (and there was time/room for them to move around)?
3. How do United and Delta crews seem to consistently keep the lavs clean, while, by the end of the flight on AA, they look like war zones?
4. On 3-5 hour flights, why do they rarely exit the galley in first/businsess after the first round of service, other than to speak to another flight attendant or use the lav; while on UA and DL, the flight attendants regularly check the cabin for refills?
That’s a nice start. It’s question one I would really like answered. I’m a pretty nice and considerate traveler, and absolutely hate boarding an AA flight and being treated like the enemy by the flight attendants. Just awful, and they are the bottom line reason for the airline’s decline!
I 100 percent agree. It’s night and day between the typical AA flight attendant and any other airline. Yes there are times that an AA flight attendant actually cares and does a good job, unfortunately that is a very big exception! I still fly AA numerous times a month for their schedule, but between the constant rolling delays and flight attendants who don’t like passengers or serving them, I wish there was a different airline with that schedule. Don’t get me started on the pilots taking the last upgrade seat on a lot of flights, including ding the one I’m on currently.
At this point, perhaps Robert Isom’s time is up and AA board is preparing to oust him once the anniversary of the fatal mid-air crash of American Eagle flight 5342 has passed…
Did you see PQ’s LinkedIn posting about UA & AA in Chicago? Another ugly story for AA.
I know boarding through door 1L can make PDBs more difficult than flights that board through a door aft of the cabin, but 737-900s and A321 NEOs have 20 pax in first class and all pax boarding through door 1L. Flight attendants on DL and UA manage PDBs on those aircraft.
Additionally, the A321 NEOs have 180 economy pax boarding, while the premium A321s have approximately 130 economy pax boarding, so 50 less pax going through the aisle. Less pax for the same number of overhead bins, so carry on bag issues will be much less frequent, speeding up boarding and making congestion in the aisle better than what you’d see on domestic aircraft equivalents.
Another option would be to wait until the first 10-15 minutes of boarding are done, that would get past the main rush, allowing the PDBs to be offered as the stragglers board.
I was a flight attendant on these aircraft for 31 years, It just takes a little coordination between the lead FA who stays by the boarding door and the “assist” FA who provides predeparture drinks and galley prep. A good lead will hold up passengers at the door for a couple of minutes so the assist can take drink orders (20 times) and then deliver 20 drinks. And don’t forget hang and tag 20 coats and jackets too all while helping passengers stow their luggage. It can be an exhausting 40 minutes but it sets the tone for the flight and happy passengers make for a happy crew.
Then there’s the odd wanker to consider on those planes
Imagine what they’d say if they had to sit in that contorted herringbone seat? Maybe I have an overactive sense of proprioception, but that angle looks so uncomfortable not to mention how impacts that would be survivable in forward/backward seating would now lead to some torsional injuries. Yuck.
So, which would you rather fly in J to Europe: this in 1-1 or (the worst widebody) a DL 763 in 1-2-1?
As older travelers we won’t be long-hauling on any 321s or other single aisle planes with such limited bathroom access.
Impossible to serve = don’t feel like serving,,, too many young FA’s don’t have the service mentality as they bury their heads in their smart phones instead of their guests
Want to fire the CEO for not making enough money. (To then share)
Hates the CEO for making any cuts to make more money.
Hates the CEO for bringing on new equipment with high-margin, premium seats. To make more money.
Hates the new equipment that will increase profits because they have to work harder.
Sounds about right for a Union.
Also, pre departure bevereages are impossible to serve on all Boeing and Airbus planes according to the same union.
Not to add any controversy here…but what I have to say is controversial.
In the last 7 years, unless I has absolutely no choice, internationally I stopped flying airlines based in the USA.
I am an American and US citizen. I just don’t trust any US based airline anymore. I actually would rather fly on a number of Asia based airlines… Excluding certain countries’ airlines.
I’m not a flight attendant, but at my job, whenever the higher ups want to make changes that impact us, they don’t ask. IF they ask, they don’t listen. Story of my life!
I’m sure it’s this and not because they’ve lost their free FC seat like on the A321T
The amount of FAs I’ve heard griping about that specifically on JFK/LAX routes recently….
Why should sky waitresses that have a job which hundreds would apply for if they left have any say so in what senior management does? Don’t get me wrong, as a long time AA flyer and lifetime Platinum member with around 3 million lifetime miles (long time EP before I retired) I strongly disagree with AA’s management decisions. However, you can’t have the inmates running the asylum. Average workers have absolutely no idea what senior management deals with. If they want that job get an MBA or put in the many years required to rise to senior executive. I was a senior executive of 4 national companies plus ran my own business for a few years so I have experience with the issues senior management deals with and the decisions that must be made. A lot more challenging than serving pre-departure beverages!
You have to be exhausted! I would be if I lived my life being a miserable old coot! Take a break RG and enjoy the rest of your years. Just because you think you’re better than the so called sky waitresses, you’re actually not. Most of them can run circles around you any day of the week. Now I’m exhausted just thinking about how sorry I feel for you.