With pilots at “Big Three” set to ratify lucrative new contracts, now flight attendants are seeking massive pay raise…to the tune of up to $92 per hour on American Airlines plus a bevy of other bonuses. In the days ahead, expect flight attendants to vote to authorize a strike in an effort to accelerate contract negotiations.
Flight Attendants At American Airlines Demand Huge Raise, Consider Strike Vote
With pilot contracts approaching completion, now flight attendants want a larger piece of the pie. Contract negotiations were paused during the pandemic, but have resumed and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents FAs at American Airlines, is now recommending a strike vote.
This would not result in an immediate strike, but merely get the ball rolling (mediation is required before a final strike vote and even then, a 30-day cooling-off period is required before an actual strike would begin). Personally, I do not think we will ever reach the strike change.
However, the union and company are far apart. Under one proposal, the APFA is asking for a:
- 35% immediate pay increase
- 6% pay increase in subsequent years
- boarding pay
- bonuses for international flights and working premium cabins
Unlike One Mile At A Time, I believe flight attendants are already paid well for the work that they do. I am incredulous that in a field in which there is such intense demand for these jobs (with acceptance rates lower than elite universities because so many are applying), such a massive pay increase is warranted.
Everyone should be reasonably compensated for their time, but the skillset required to be a flight attendant does not require a degree or advanced training and unlike pilots, there is no shortage of willing and qualified applicants.
The APFA thinks that it is “time to send a clear and definitive message to American Airlines, the media, and the flying public that we are willing to take all steps necessary to secure the Contract we have earned.”
But the idea that your job is worth up to $92/hour (after 13 years of service) strikes me as fanciful and inflation-inducing.
I appreciate the work flight attendants do and acknowledge it is not always an easy job, but earning significantly more than nurses (to make one comparison) does not strike me as sustainable. Furthermore, the proposal above seems very much directed at continuing to protect senior flight attendants. Shouldn’t a bonus be rather given for working more difficult routes like domestic shorthaul flights that junior flight attendants are often stuck with and that are objectively more difficult and stressful?
CONCLUSION
Flight attendants at American Airlines want a massive pay raise. The APFA has recommended a strike authorization to further that goal. While it is understandable that workers wish to maximize wages, I find the latest pay proposal to be absent from the reality of current market conditions.
image: APFA
Hahahaha. Look at them. They couldn’t find someone attractive to send this insane message?
I mean, if you’re going to demand more than 8 dollars an hour for being a comically bad waitress, at least take a shower first.
You have some issues, Loretta. To demean another person based on what you consider physical attractiveness is appalling. Your additional posts as well highlight your insecurities and ignorance when it comes to the profession.
Oh, honey. It’s such a loser move to pathologize people to shut them up.
I will not be shut up. I will, however, do everything in my power to shut up Piggy her little friends up there.
Now let’s talk about you. You sound like you have trouble keeping your hands away from children? Is that the problem here, D James? Your fantasies and what you might end up doing?
Do you need us to call your employer?
@D James, Trolletta has a lot of problems. One of her biggest is blatant jealousy.
Lol, you sad people have no replies other than personal attacks.
Well, they won’t work. Let’s figure out how to actively campaign against FAs, everyone. They’re rotten. They’re showing their true colors in this comment section.
Remember that the next time you board a flight.
Are you okay? You sound… unhinged. Maybe put down the wine bottle every now and then.
Well aren’t you a rotten khuhnt
Simply greedy by a group that often gives poor service and, occasionally, abusive with their “interfering with a crew” mentality.
AA should counter with proposed improvements in service, better ff program, and no wage hikes with the explanation that these real enhancements cost money.
Since Medicare under Biden is cutting doctor pay 3.3% next year, they should be grateful.
The national average pay for a trained firefighter is about $50,000. They put themselves at risk everyday to save lives and protect property. A flight attendant is more akin to the lunch lady in a school cafeteria. Both should be pleasant, able to reheat and serve food, point to the door in an emergency. I don’t believe a career lunch lady gets a hundred bucks an hour.
While I agree to the boarding pay, flight attendants are not real firefighters nor skilled medical professionals. Maybe additional pay scale could be added for those with useful credentials.
I’m chuckling that I’ve read news accounts of firefighters going to prison because they started fires because of boredom. Google: “Firefighter arson”.
Farenheit 451?
Haha or Backdraft.
What you do not say in your article , and provably In purpose , is that Flight Attends don’t work 40 hour work weeks. Unlike nurses , we are only scheduled to work 70-80 flight hours MONTH ! So if you are able to do math , which it seems you may not be equipped with such skills , that works out to about $45 an hour. We are also not paid from the moment we show up to work . We are paid $3 an hour for the hours we are away from our base. Please get your facts right before writing such an inflammatory article. Disinformation at its finest
Then quit, you complaining old bag.
Your Article is Shameful! And totally Incorrect! The $92 are In-Flight Hours only we get paid!! Our Days are almost mathematically twice as long as the Flight Hours! Thusly! We really only making $45 /hr! Now its at about $35 /hr for Top Tier F/A’s! Stop Lying to The Public to Get Yourself Noticed! You need to Be Smarter! And MORE HONORABLE! And Respect the Flight Attendants! Who most of Them have More UNIVERSITY DEGREES & EDUCATION than you do!! You should APOLOGIZE About your Erroneous Out of Context Statement! Truly just a Lie in your Title! That F/A’s want $92 per Hour! Maybe someone will SUE You for LIBLE!
It’s libel. And no.
$92/hour is quite nice for a bar tender
A bartender who is trained to be a fire fighter, administer CPR, know the signs of stroke, heart attack, hypoxia, diabetic come, diabetic shock, seizure,. Who will jump into action to administer first aid while other look on not knowing what to do except say call for help?
I have been trained to do all of the same things, day in and day out. I worked in EMS for 72 hours a week for 3 years straight. I made minimum wage. I now hold a masters degree to practice medicine. I work as a neurosurgical physician assistant. My base salary is approximately $70 an hour.
Flight attendants are overreaching with this demand. I have even asked what medications are in the physician first aid bag because I’m trained in this stuff. They couldn’t answer.
I’m pretty sure if I’m not making $92 an hour in my role, with my experience and skillset, the bartender on the flight certainly doesn’t meet those criteria either.
Just remind your crew to bring you a diet coke while you’re dying from a heart attack….
It cracks me up that these travel blogs love to complain about horrible service by flight attendants but at the same time do not want them to have a pay raise. Higher pay will attract better workers, but I guess the travel bloggers would have nothing to write about if the service improved?
If you don’t want to provide good service, you should be fired on the spot, regardless of your wage.
I get asking for $92 dollars an hour is ridiculous but I’m now curious what do you think is an acceptable wage for a flight attendant at top scale or should they just be happy with the $68.25 they are currently being paid?
You see on the flip side that British Airways went too far in creating two FA groups so they could pay so little to the second group…I am not in favor of that. But the $68/hour seems fairly generous to me already, especially if you add boarding pay. It’s still more than many nurses make (and like boarding time, nurses are often not paid for charting on their own time outside of the 12-hour shift…)
Still trying to figure out what you have against flight attendants and what you actually know about the job? Evidently you have not done your homework before writing you article or you would know that that hourly wage doesn’t start until that airplane pushes back from the gate and stops the minute the door opens at a destination. Any other profession that clicks in for a shift is paid from the time they click in to the time they click out. You are comparing apples to horses…please know what you are saying before you write it.
What you don’t seem to know is that flight attendants are not paid for the full day they work. We have to be “signed in” one hour before our flight. We are not paid for boarding. Not until the plane doors close and the aircraft pushes from the gate does our hourly wage start. We can be on the plane delayed with passengers and are not being paid. I have been at work for many hours working before that pay even starts. When we land and pull in to the gate our pay stops. Even if we are on duty. So please get your facts straight. If I was paid for each hour I was working I would be rich. Instead I donate half the hours I work each day to the company without being compensated.
Quit. Quit your job.
You hate it. We hate you.
No-one truly knows what another job entails unless they have done it. Just as I do not know your job, Ms. Jackson, you do not know mine.
Your perception of my job, and that of Mr. Klint, despite his proclamation of being “an avid traveler”, perfectly exemplifies one of the greater challenges of the flight attendant profession. Dealing with hateful behavior.
We flight attendants are not all given to being rude or providing poor service. Some of us have actually mastered the ability to show class and caring to passengers, despite being faced with attitudes like the one you show.
It is unfortunate that people in general, passengers on airplanes included, do not remember that respect is a two-way street. I do not hate my job, I expect to be compensated in a manner that reflects the work that I put in helping American Airlines be so profitable, and I will continue to treat people who behave poorly with kindness. The personal satisfaction that I get reminds me to be grateful that I am, quite obviously, happier than you.
Mr Klint qe didn’t see you writing up a similar article about the pilots contracts
And please remind your crew members while you’re doing all that travel to bring you a diet coke while you’re on the aircraft floor dying from a heart attack…
We wrote about the pilots too…
FAs should instead receive a bonus tied to their service and the NPS scores generated by customer surveys after the flight. This could be paid out every quarter for example. This might motivate better performance since a bonus would be tied to it, instead of just a hourly wage hike. My two cents.
These travel bloggers are gonna be really pissed when they find out how semi drivers, electricians, plumbers and other unskilled labor groups make
The trained occupations you mention, which have master levels of knowledge and training in some cases, like electricians, are going to be really pissed when you try and compare a person opening and closing doors and pouring coffee to them. Perhaps not semi drivers…but if you want they are very short of drivers now and you can apply. But might be hard to play candy crush while driving.
A better comparison would be Starbucks Baristas. And at least they are usually really pleasant.
At the 13 year pay rate, these proposed wages would have AA’s flight attendants having more money as taxable salary income than doctors with nearly comparable years of service in much of Europe.
You don’t think Lil’ Piggy up there is a doctor? She took a first aid course, hello?!
Those Doctors who have free healthcare and socialized retirement pay guaranteed.
You’re completely wrong because you’re basing that on a 40 hour work week, which is not how we get paid. Flight attendants get paid in flight hours on the plane only, and the majority of our duty day is uncompensated. A typical “full time” schedule is about 70-80 hours per month in aviation. $92/hour is not much when most of your day is unpaid. $92/hour doesn’t even put most at $80k/year.
LOL, look at these broads complaining about working 70-80 hour months. There are single moms out there working that PER WEEK.
That’ll buy you a lot of ugly clogs.
No way AA! They don’t really like to do their jobs inflight – they tend to quick feed their passengers then go back to galley and finish their crosswords for the remain of flight. They don’t deserve any pay rate raise. Nice try, AA crew!
On their smartphone…
Copycat scenario with United Pilots’ salary increase. Me thinks management would not want to pay for this and start looking for other ways to get proper staffing. Such as, contract out employees from other countries or agencies, and pay them LESS. As in the medical profession where nurses are contracted from the outside agencies so management doesn’t have to pay them as much.
Sorry FAs, I don’t mean to give them any ideas, but this is exactly what happens in the medical profession where nurses are contracted from outside agencies just so management can pay them LESS.
I mean, they *should* be paid less. They have a terrible attitude and they’re so indescribably lazy.
Hire young people who want to see the world for 10 dollars an hour and let them know they’ll be out of there in five years tops.
Three customer complaints and you’re out.
They’d still line up around the block to get the job.
Loretta Jackson. you ignorant slut
Sorry Tony but there is such a thing as a scope clause!!!
hahahahahahaha….the part where they say they want better pay for working the premium cabin. Well, first off, their “premium” cabin leaves something to be desired. And premium service in that premium cabin is non existent! Goodness, they serve you the slop on your tray, pick it up, and then disappear for 10 hours……where’s the Premium Service? They deserve a very small raise, I do agree with boarding pay, but not a friggin hundred bucks an hour.
Most people have no idea the knowledge FA have and the memory skills needed, so average Jor/Josie can mock the SkyWaitress/Waiter. When you hear “ Lead FA to flight deck?” Remember how you mocked these folks, cause now they have your back and they know what they signed up for and how to do it. Next time you dine out .. ask the Waitress if she will help you get out in case of fire etc lol. Hope the FA get a raise. United Pilots are offered up to 40% raise.
@CAM, I’ve learned through this group that 1/4 of the people you’re commenting to don’t have jobs, another 1/4 are under 15 yrs old, another 1/4 hate their own life so they LOVE to try and make other people feel bad about theirs and the last 1/4 are just your typical A…H…. I wouldn’t bother explaining anything to any of them. Happy Flying.
Is it really all you can fight back with? Personal insults?
You’re all just proving the detractors right. You’re such an entitled group of “people”.
There are multiple exits all recognized and apparent. Just as in any ground facility. Often even better marked and apparent. If your pointing to the obvious in an emergency makes you a first responder than I guess every reasonable human being can be classified as such. Identifying the emergency exit, something a trained dog can do, is hardly worth $92 an hour.
Further, given the physical condition of most FA’s out there, y’all would be the last person I would want to see an emergency.
I couldn’t wait for this article to show up. I get a kick out of all the comments. It’s the same ole hate filled wanna be’s coming out of the basement. I’d have to take a poll on who is the worst bully in this group. So glad I wasn’t raised that way. Thank you to my GREAT parents. Keep up the good work junior high schoolers. Back to my Aperol Spritz while enjoying Rome. Ciao!
Thank you for that reply! It is pretty evident these clowns have no idea what the job is all about. But it doesn’t even make sense to try and explain because they would not understand! Enjoy your aperol spritz! Cheers
I don’t think everyone here is a bully. There are a lot of people on here who fly often in premium cabins on US carriers and foreign carriers. It isn’t that we don’t want people like you to get paid more. Our frustration is that we continue to receive sub par service, maybe not from you, but from many of your colleagues. Flight attendants on non-US carriers are trained in safety just as much as you are, but seem to place a greater emphasis on good service. They make us feel welcome, and seem to work quite hard for their keep.
The raise being asked for here isn’t in line with market economics. It just isn’t. Supply for your role far exceeds demand. Your disdainful attitude, and those we often encounter on board are why we’re not as empathetic as this campaign hopes we would be. So enjoy that A-Spritz, though. Just remember on your way out that it’s against EU law to call the sparkling wine you offer on the ground in FCO “champagne.”
I think I’m paid more than fairly, but I’d be happy to take an hourly pay cut and start getting paid for all the hours I work. For years, I liked the block to block pay model, but with the abusive schedules my airline now provides, I’d prefer to get paid like regular hourly employees…like nurses do. And I think the idea that junior people work more grueling short hops is a little outdated. All of our schedules are horrific now, and junior people, including reserves, can easily pick up or trade for the same “senior” trips as anyone else can.
You already are paid.
If you don’t like it, quit. Go work something equally demanding and suitable for your skill, ie. Burger King or something.
Damn Loretta bitter much?! Lol! What is your profession out of curiosity
Give it a rest Loretta. So much hate. Go out and smell the roses a bit. Life is just too short to bully others for their careers choices. Who cares what others choose to do? I don’t care if you are a cashier at target or a chemical engineer. It’s your life not mine and whatever makes you happy girl.
Yes, I hate you.
I want to make sure others know it’s okay to hate you as well.
Flight attendants as a group have ruined many a family trip for innocent people; have made up lies bringing paying pax in hot water; have had people arrested for asking for basic service.
You are the reason ticket prices have increased to the point when little boys and girls don’t get to go on vacation. You are the reason people miss saying farewell to a loved one because you’re delaying flights.
You’re fat. You’re lazy. You’re vindictive.
It’s time we let the hate out in the open.
Well I need to let my Union know I have so much control over delayed flights, ticket prices and little boys and girls not being able to go on vacation. Funny how my premium cabins have been filled with all these boys and girls this Summer. My Union really should have asked for more then with all these things I’m in charge of. As far as my weight, if you have an MD behind your name I can set up a peer to peer review to discuss my BMI with my Dr. I’ll see him tonight when I get home. Have a nice day Trolletta.
Didn’t a campaign like this ultimately lead to the introduction of mixed crews at BA. I guess Sr. FAs wouldn’t really care if they got paid in the end.
I do believe they should be paid from the time they board, or at a minimum the time the first passenger boards.
Honest question…not trying to stir the pot here. How many hours a week/month do FAs typically log? I realize traditionally their time clock didn’t start until the door closes (though I think some airlines have changed that?). So I’m just trying to do some simple math to see what this new proposed pay scale actually comes out to before I pass judgement one way or another. Obviously it sounds like a lot for senior FAs, especially on int’l routes, but I’m curious what it comes out to, on average, for your typical domestic 737 or 320 FA.
Thoughts?
Because as you mentioned you’re only paid when the door is closed, compensation is typically an average of 75 – 85 hours per month. Boarding, deplaning, and all of the work done on the ground before and after flights is unpaid. Domestically, a typical work day is 12 – 13 hours, but you’re only compensated for 5 or 6 of those hours. $92 might seem like a high number, but when you work for free most of the time, it’s not all that high.
It’s more complicated than just a simple formula. The bottom line, senior flight attendants are always bidding for and getting the lucrative International routes. Why? That should be obvious. And should answer your question just on example. These are much easier routes to work and they are paid much more given seniority.
The senior flight attendants are mostly the ones stirring the pot (as you say) and making life hell for everyone else, including passengers. They are the voice in the union (just look at that photo) and they dictate the life of the young eager ones who are not as yet burnt out from years of galley gossip. The reality is, anyone senior will throw all the new hires under the bus at any given chance (they did it during the Covid periods). Therein is the problem. And why the entire seniority system for FA’s is completely absurd and counter intuitive.
The system is bonkers and I doubt few businesses in the world have allowed something like this to spiral out of control as it has.
It’s a very simple formula actually… International trips are more senior because you work for free less hours… example, on a flight from New York to Athens you’re on duty 14 hours and are compensated for 11 – 12 hours and therefore is more lucrative.
Domestically, you’ll find the more junior crews. They’re on duty for up to 14 hours, working 3 – 4 flights per day with long unpaid wait times on the ground in between those flights. On that long 14 hour work day, they’re lucky to be paid 6 hours… therefore, a lot less lucrative.
That’s the formula.
Umm, yes, that’s what I was referring to? I was saying it’s more complicated than 1+1=2. But that the reasons should be obvious as to why it is.
Can we all agree that an excessive raise could destroy a fragile industry? No one wants bankruptcy, layoffs. The pilots have taken the advantage of the moment, but flight attendants will probably be not so lucky I fear. And i appreciate all the comments.
And it’s going to get worse. AA pilot’s union is now giving signs that since the UA contract offer these past few days they want even more above what they agreed on. This is becoming an auction. One where everyone loses. Trust me…in four years there will be no pilot shortage. Just bankrupt airlines and out of work pilots.
American flight attendants are the worst in the business and don’t deserve what they are currently being paid. How about they focus on actually doing their job first. When it come to pay, AA needs a merit based plan where flight attendants are judged on their performance. It’s time to do away with the entire seniority plan.
I think it’s telling that not a single commenter here has said “if this goes through, I’m going to become a FA”.
This raise isn’t about rewarding a group of people for exemplary service– it’s about paying people enough money to put up with the crappy job of being a FA. Well, that and reinforcing an antiquated pay structure based on seniority rather than performance.
As folks have pointed out, the hourly rates aren’t really accurate, as folks end up working many unpaid hours. It would seem that a salary system would better suit the nature of the job.
@Mr Marcus, I’ve been flying for 40+ years and I don’t ever recall thinking I have a crappy job. I’m glad others think I do because the competition during the hiring process may have been greater 40+ years ago. For me and my family it’s been a wonderful life. I’ve been very fortunate to see the World on someone else’s dime and have a sweet flexible schedule. I do hope you enjoy your job as well. It makes life so much nicer.
I’m glad you like the job.
In a typical year I meet 4-6 FAs. I’m not talking about when they are on the job, I’m talking about meeting them out in the world outside of their working hours, when I can have a real conversation with them about their life. I can’t remember the last time one of them spoke positively of the job.
From the outside looking at it, it seems to be a thankless job with a schedule that can be unpredictable in terms of time and place. The work in economy cabins seems to be overwhelmingly repetitive– give a safety presentation, serve drinks to 150 people, at least 15 of which are total lunatics, tell folks to sit down, and repeat.
While you may like the job, do you not find that most of your colleagues complain endlessly about their work? That is what I see from the outside.
Impressively misleading headline. Maybe it might be worth mentioning at the same time the FA’s don’t get 40 hours a week. Otherwise they’d be making around $200K a year. That’s simply not the case. Your biases are showing.
I never said they worked 40 hours per week…
Realistically, a lot of readers will simply extrapolate based on a 40 hour work week. That’s just how things work in the USA. You didn’t even mention the pilots making $400+ an hour to give context. Given how strongly you try to not excoriate groups that you like through highly incomplete information that only leaves showing bias just because you disagree. That’s disappointing considering your normally high ethical standards.
Pilots do an actual job. Pilots are in short supply.
FAs get up in the mid-morning, decide which balloon to comb their hair with, throw on a gender-neutral uniform (XXL), and then download another round of Candy Crush to ignore passengers with while complaining about their pay.
Flight attendants have sacrificed family and friend relations for years-their whole adult lives for some- in addition to being prepared to evacuate planes ( yes, get you off even if you were incapacitated) and handle medical emergencies on the aircraft in coordination with medical professionals on the ground. Patience with travelers with your perspective is most challenging.
FYI, I have 3 graduate degrees and work independently online for a prestigious college. And I would not know anything about candy crush. An increase in warranted due to many factors: commuter/transportation costs, groceries, and increases in taxes all around. Perhaps the amount AA fas are asking is too high, but the reasoning expressed in this blog that fas are expendable (like waitresses) is sadly misguided and unfortunate.
LOL, completing the Herbalife sales course isn’t a “graduate degree”. I’ll show you what it is, but you wouldn’t understand it.
Now go fetch me some coffee and a chardonnay, Missy. Chop chop.
For a guy that flies 200k miles a year he woujd know that wages have not kept up with cost of living!! He woujd know that bankruptcies and other events such as 9/11 and Covid stopped the upward trajectory of wages for many years.
He would know that flight attendants worked far less during the Pan Am eras abs even as recently as 20-25 years ago…and got paid not much different than they do now.
As history has it..flight attendants usually get paid about 25% of what a senior pilot makes.Right now with new pay raises offered to pilots..senior pilots can make as much as 500k on wide body A/C.
Anyways…maybe it’s cheap to live where you live..but in places most airlines have hubs..it’s NOT cheap ie: NYC,LA,San Francisco
I live in Los Angeles where cost of living is very high but as unfortunate as it is, the 25% figure you cite is not sustainable when demand far exceeds supply for the job of a FA. There’s no emotional argument or bitterness about poor service—I think FAs are generally great. But the idea that wages should rise that high under the conditions of the current job market are not realistic. For every flight attendant who leaves, 10 are ready to take her place. This is not anti-flight attendant sentiment.
Matt, To say no increase is warranted is just wrong. Healthcare in most states has tripled for fas, rents, mortgage rates, taxes,,… all have risen. In many bases it is very difficult to make ends meet without being gone 20/30 days a month. Sacrifice of personal relations is something people like you do not acknowledge. Do people even know how many times there have been missed milestones, deaths in the family? How about holding the hands of elderly who are sobbing bringing their loved ones to be buried? I personally had to hold up my colleague in Tel Aviv who found out on landing her 21 yr old daughter was killed in a car accident. You may not understand in this profession what you give up. There are bad fas, sure. But most career-fas are worth some increase to maintain their lifestyles without having to forfeit more time away from home. AA fas are just getting the ball rolling (and threw out a super high #) but I know for UA fas, with all of the increases and inflation, there needs to be some increase in compensation to sustain our quality of life.
>I personally had to hold up my colleague in Tel Aviv who found out on landing her 21 yr old daughter was killed in a car accident.
Imagine using your colleague’s dead child to emotionally blackmail a professional writer like Matthew into shutting up.
You should be ashamed of yourself. How dare you!
I’m confused, so because 10 people are willing to work my job if I quit, I shouldn’t make enough money to pay my rent? You say you live in LA, so you know how expensive it is. That’s a base city for us. I, a 7 year flight attendant, make $3750/month gross. Think I could afford LA? A new hire is making $2250 gross. Could they? Probably not. But 10 other people would step in to take that job, so who needs a living wage? I have to be clear here: full time in aviation is 70-80 hours per month. Not one person I know in this job makes 6 figures. And even with the raise at top of pay scale, most of us still wouldn’t. We’d make around $70k. That’s not that much. We aren’t asking for the moon and we don’t deserve less.
We don’t care if you can’t pay rent, Shannon. Your horrible attitude is why.
You should do some research before you write about a subject you know nothing about. I have never heard of you and I have been in the industry for 30 years. You sound ignorant and should be embarrassed. Judging by your followers’ comments, they are just as ignorant as you.
Thanks for your opinion. I stand by comments and my industry experience.
If you take issue with something specific that I wrote, I am happy to engage on it.
One must remember that a flight attendant isn’t paid for every hour they are on duty, only the flight hours during their duty. They must arrive 1- 1.5 hours before departure (unpaid) and are not paid while the door on the aircraft are open. They may work 14-16 hours in a day but only realize 6 hours of pay. Further, AA FAs contract was for 2014-2019. If an new agreement can be reached in 2024, and is also for 5 years and is negotiated for another 3-4 years (typical timeline for negotiations), these rates must be reasonable for the year 2032.
There is mush context lacking when the focus is only on $92/ hour.
We only get paid 70-80 a month because our hourly pay is based on our inflight time and doesn’t cover our boarding time, deplaning time, connecting time, time held onboard delayed airplanes with passenger onboard, etc. We are constantly traversing times zones and on one day we work the day shift, the next day we work the night shift. We spend hours commuting to work, sometimes because our company closed our base and gave us an ultimatum— ‘commute across the country or uproot our family from the only home and school system we’ve know’. We have extensive medical , firefighting and emergency training that must be tested and certified By the FAA every year. For which we are also paid a reduced hourly wage for two days away from home. There are life saving duties performed by flight attendants on our aircraft every day We have not had a pay raise or even a cost of living increase since 2014. We are ready and willing to sign a fair contract as soon as the company offers one.
We could fill all FA positions with 20,000 USD/year salaries. Without benefits. Think young adults doing it for fun for a few years to travel a bit, see the world.
We don’t *need* you. You *need* us.
Honestly Loretta who the f*ck could survive on $20k per year? Living with parents? Could you actually survive on $1,660 per month? That wouldn’t even cover rent in most cities. You might actually be retarded.
Darling Loretta, the 80 hours per month is what flight attendants are paid for. They work about twice that amount.
And these young people that you imagine taking the job for free frequently aren’t able make it through training or probation.
A few manage to hang on but they are much more likely to be playing candy crush/watching tiktok than the more experienced flight attendants for whom you have such vitriol.
Boohoo…you mean you endure work like all the rest of us.
You are all so brainwashed by the unions and from galley gossip that you really do believe you’re somehow special. You’re not. Everyone. Everywhere. In Most Every job must endure trade offs and “stuff.” Many get paid a lot less than you. Bottom line is that if you don’t like the job, as you appear, you find a new path. It’s quite simple and billions around the world have for ages done just that if so miserable. You will be happier, your customers will be happier, and the company will be happier as they can actually replace you with someone that enjoys it.
Really, instead of telling you that you have a pretty decent occupation for the money you make, the unions try to tell you how awful it is and that you need more. Stop believing Unions and their leaders, they are like cult leaders and will be the one ruining your lives long before the company will.
Oh, and boohoo again for your silly two day a year training with reduced pay. I have to spend two weeks every year at my expense to get certification training updates for which I pay my own expenses and time for it. So what? Many have to deal with licensing, certification and continuing education…often at their own expense.
Remember these words L…”You. Are. Not. Special. Get over yourselves.
Your comment is so out of touch. The majority of us love our job but are finding it increasingly difficult to stay because we aren’t making a livable wage. You think the miserable ones will leave and make way for bright shiny new hires who are excited about the job? Do you think they’ll stay excited when their monthly earnings are $2250 GROSS? Who can make that work? None of us think we’re this amazing special job and deserve to be making a crazy amount of money. We just want a livable wage. Bear in mind that we’re paid in flight hours ONLY and not compensated for the majority of our day. We’re not out here working 40 hour work weeks. That’s not the way the industry works. Full time in aviation is considered 70-80 hours/per month because we’re only paid when the airplane door is closed. We’re away on trips for 3-4 days at a time, required to be at the airport 1-2 hours beforehand to sign in, we don’t get paid for boarding or anything in between on sometimes 15 hour days. A high hourly rate is required to offset the fact that on a long day, we may only actually get paid for 5. It takes me all month to accumulate the amount of hours someone with a land job accumulates in two weeks. No one I know makes 6 figures a year in this job. And with the raise, at top of pay scale, we still won’t on an average work schedule. This article isn’t painting the full picture of our pay structure. We’re not asking for that much.
Guess what, talk to your senior flight attendants who are making FAR more than you cite. And in the process doing less. Make it more sustainable for younger hires to make a living wage. Bottom line is this: you and the unions built this system of seniority and the old and burnt out are reaping the rewards. In the process making sure that the message is a woe me of look at what entry levels are making when, in fact, the senior flight attendants couldn’t care and use it as an excuse to pad their wallets even more when doing far less.
Unions made this system. Good luck with it.
Further, you are missing the entire point. You seem to think you are pilots. You are not. There are tens of thousands waiting to gladly take your job. It’s not that hard. If only the airlines, sans Unions, had the luxury to remind you.
I’m under the impression you think we make a lot more than we do. The most senior flight attendants working an average full time schedule are making about $60k per year. The raise would put them somewhere between 70 and 80k. None of us think we’re pilots. And trust me, I know there’s some miserable old bats out there. But when you break the dollar down, we’re not asking for an insane amount of money here.
@ shannon
Please know that my best friend was a career FA recruited from high school. A 40 year friendship. She was a warm, delightful and relatable person. She was also savvy and was able to read the tea leaves and sensible. Being frugal and realistic, she was always cautious during wage negotiations. Sometimes it helps to be realistic. Hers was a job of service, which she accepted and embraced.
Sadly flight attendants are not skilled workers. As she would have said, don’t believe your own BS. I wish you well, and good luck
@Maryland all due respect but I don’t think you understand what’s being asked for. A $70k-ish salary is not an unrealistic or unreasonable request. Especially in this day and age with inflation the way it is.
TO CLARIFY THE IDEA OF THE PEOPLE THINKING THEY UNDERSTAND It WELL.
An fa pay is not hourly pay. They are not being paid same as other job the moment they clock in to work.
The are required to report 1-2 hours in advance depending on destination of their flight. The required to do the boarding, serve drinks, do airplane check, help agent for boarding, help people for their bag, etc. but THEY ARE NOT PAID.
They are only get pay per hour until the door is close AND The airplne break is deactivated.
Meaning they are working 10-15 hours a day but they are not paid 10-15 hours a day. They are paid 5-8 hours only depending on the status of the flight.
So dont think they are asking for much. THEY ARE NOT PAID DUTINH DELAYs, CANCELLATIONS AND OTHER IRREGULARITIES ON SCHEDULE.
A new reserve fa for AA is being paid 75 hours a month. Thats 2,276. Net- 1500-1800 gross
Put your sources here. Because your dont trully understand the job. THEY ARE NOT BEING PAID PER HOUR THEY CLOCK IN TO WORK. They are working up to 15 hours a day but they are only averagely paid 5 hours a day. Because the job is not comparable to regular job thay the moment an employee clock in they are paid already. They are only pay if door is close and break is undone. And they are not paid 4-9 hours a day. They are not paid for boarding and deplaning. They are not paid for delays, intervals, cancelations etc.
If you do that math, 30-68$ per hour is not too much at the end of the paycheck. Otherwise Fa will be rich and nor homeless and not eating cheap food from dollar tree. So fix yoru sources and understand how the payroll works before releasing a decieving incomplete article with your shallow and ignorant and misinforming opinion about the job.
Blogs like this, because there is ZERO actual journalism involved, are very reflective of todays society.
People just comment without any intelligence nor fact.
It’s a sad reflection, but is reality, of what society has become.
There’s an age old adage.. Opinions are like …. Something, what’s the word, it escapes my educated ass….
But everyone has one and like Mark Twain said, “ “Better to remain silent & thought a fool than to open one’s mouth & remove all doubt.”
Rick, whether you are paid for boarding or not, there is good reason rooted in a reasonable worldview that concludes that wages should not rise when demand for a flight attendant position exponentially exceeds supply.
New hire flight attendants requre 6 weeks of unpaid training away from home after which they earn so little for the first 5 years that most qualify for food stamps. They are also given crappy schedules with little control over when they can be home.
So while it may seem there are many applicants for few positions, in reality most of those applicants are WORSE than the ones you already see on aircraft and don’t get hired. Those that do get hired often can’t hack training or are weeded out during their probationary period.
In order to attract caring, qualified, competent indiviuals, American will need to offer wages and work rules that meet or exceed industry standards. Case in point:
https://news.delta.com/deltas-profit-sharing-investment-people-makes-multimillion-dollar-impact-communities-across-us#:~:text=Delta%20determines%20its%20profit%2Dsharing,earnings%20of%20all%20eligible%20employees.
AA should pay its workers a living wage, no matter their seniority. No full-time worker should ever have to obtain federal assistance because their employer does not pay them enough.
That doesn’t mean that there are not hundreds of people lining up for every single open FA position, even if the training is grueling.
Yes, there are hundreds lining up for the job but of those hundreds maybe a couple are hireable. Of the few who are hireable some will back out when they learn of the difficult hours, low starting wages and necessity of being trapped in a tube with people like Loretta, every day. It may seem like an ample hiring pool but it dwindles fast when they see the reality.
I wonder how many new hires are gone in less than a year. I suspect alot of them stick it out for a few months hoping to see Paris or Rome and quit once they learn that they’re more likely to be doing 5 leg hops and stuck overnight with no hotel in Reno when they can’t contact scheduling for a hotel. Training is expensive. New hires aren’t as abundant as you might think.
You have nothing of value and your clickbait articles only prove that
Your email address fits you well, Be.
$92.00 per hour for lousy, indifferent service (multiple surveys will back me on this)? Hahahaha!
You wrote this article and conveniently left out a lot of information about the way our pay works. You either don’t know yourself, or your omission of information was purposeful to make us look bad and greedy to the general public. Let me explain for those who don’t know. $92 an hour is not asking for a lot. Does that seem like a high dollar amount per hour? Definitely. But we are not working 9-5 40 hour work weeks. We are paid in flight hours ONLY. Hours we are physically locked in the airplane. For normal flight attendant, we get about 80 FLIGHT HOURS per month, give or take. Not 40 hours per week. 80 per month. And that’s not to say we’re out here working part time jobs. We can be “on duty” for 12+ hours per day and only get paid for 5, because those are the hours we’re on the plane for.
Your article makes it sound like we want $92/hour at 40 hours per week. Of course that seems high. If you explain we get paid in flight hours only, and that 80 hours is considered full time in aviation because of that, $92/hour isn’t even clearing $90k/year PRE TAX. I’ve been flying for 7 years and I make $48k/year. With the raise we’re requesting, I’d be at $67k. WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR ANYTHING BUT A LIVING WAGE TO KEEP UP WITH INFLATION LIKE A LITTLE BIT.
Don’t just drop a number and say we’re ridiculous for thinking we deserve that. We do not get paid like a normal job. A high hourly number is necessary because we don’t get paid for much of our time.
Blah Blah Blah…read up, Shannon. People here get it. This is an experienced blog with mostly savvy readers. It’s not USA Today. Stop trying to sell your song. While I am far more harsh than Matthew, the sentiment remains…y’all need to get real and stop letting Unions brainwash you into thinking you are something uniquely special. Because,, ya know, you are not, and you are insulting tens of thousands of Starbucks Baristas in the process.
Hello Stuart. The easiest way to explain a pay structure for flight attendants is to take the hourly flight pay and divide it in half. Top scale currently is 68. It’s clear that you understand that pay is not from start to finish of a mostly 12 hour day. But to give a better idea of all the unpaid time, taking that hourly wage and dividing it in half for every hour we are actually on duty is more realistic to understand. $34 an hour isn’t minimum wage, but it’s certainly not a 6 figure yearly amount either. After 45 years of flying, I still enjoy going on my trips. I’ve had 26 of my 45 years of seniority taken from me by the “union” so I have no love for them, believe me. I should have an area code for my seniority rather than a zip code. The most rewarding part of my job is when I can make a difference in someone’s travel day. Like holding the hand of and reassuring a passenger who is fearful of flying. Being sensitive enough to recognize a passenger in emotional pain and sensitive to the needs at present. Whether it be a hug, a handful of tissues to dry their tears, or a stranger willing to listen. I noticed these things. I often wonder what has happened to these people after they reach their destination. One lady in the premium cabin could not hold back her tears. I did my required duties but kept checking on her throughout the flight. She felt comfortable enough with me to share that she was in route to her daughter on the east coast, who, she had learned committed suicide. I hugged her, listened, and otherwise did my best to offer comfort. That is just one of many many experiences I have had where I felt like I could make a difference. Most likely the type you refer to are the ones that we, the other crew members, find difficult to work with because of bad attitudes. Those type can set the ton for the whole flight and ruin it for the rest of us as well. There are still many senior flight attendants who are very professional, and I like to think I am one of them. Best wishes to you. And I shall pray for “Loretta” and the deep hatred she projects.
I’m not reading all that, but I’m happy for you and/or sorry that happened.
Hahahahaha, $ 92 an hour means I calculated there information that in one month they made $ 14,720. Hahahaha no one can can make this money. They are only flight attendant who are nothing and restaurant manager or store manager also can’t make $ 14,720 or any technician also. As for me there monthly salary is approximately $ 5000 or $ 6000 month but these flight attendant whose education are also not much requesting to give $ 92. I don’t know which company was fool who gave this money to them and loose there budget or don’t ever give this much money.
The argument from all the FAs in the comments that they are only paid for flight hours so it really comes out to 45 an hour is hilarious. Even at that rate that would make you the highest paid unskilled labor in the world
@Wes, most jobs in this country are considered unskilled. There are about 4 jobs I can think of that take more than 6 weeks to learn. I’m sure yours can be mastered quite quickly.
Its insane that people think if youn are under paid just go! How lazy and selfish….the issue is America corporations not paying its workers. As doctor, nurses, teachers, truck drivers all essential workers that kept the country afloat when the world was closed and burning, they kept going, they couldn’t stop and protect themselves many died, they all should be paid well and get the raise they all deserve!
Perhaps flight attendants should be thankful taxpayers directly bailed them out during the pandemic such they enjoyed employment protection and full wages/benefits, unlike other industries.
You’re probably a Trump supporter! You say nothing positive about anything! I’ll support anyone, regardless of the profession. I fly American 3 times a month and I’ve never seen the crew complain about anything. They treat me with respect and I do the same towards them. At the end of the day, they have the power to shut American Airlines down!!!
Leave your job. You provide nothing of value. We hate you.
I suppose it’s time to make some comparisons to my own career, that has meandered a multitude of ways. As the FAs among this article continue to state, everything is apples to oranges and can’t be compared. Well, then this comparison is valid because I feel entitled to have complaints as well when there are outrageous demands.
As stated in a previous comment regarding FAs “who [are] trained to be a fire fighter, administer CPR, know the signs of stroke, heart attack, hypoxia, diabetic come, diabetic shock, seizure”, so am I. In fact, we call those people EMTs. Which is the position I held for 3 years while working 72 hours a week, usually in the form of 3 shifts 24 hours long. Even within that field, it was only mandated you needed to be paid for 10 hours of that shift unless you were actively on a call, despite having to be at a station, with constant radios going off to hear for your rig’s district. Overtime was only paid after 40 hours of work, not on a per shift basis. Wow, that sucks ya know? Especially when your hourly rate is minimum wage. It also happens to differ from FAs in that I didn’t get to be in an air controlled cabin, when it’s 100 degrees outside and a car accident or fire happened, I actually had to be there in full gear. I would be penalized if I didn’t have a 1 minute “en route” time from dispatch in the middle of the night.
Lets move on from that can of worms and describe the current career which I hope to be a permanent fixture. I now fill the role of a neurosurgical physician assistant. My roles include emergency procedures, consultations in two hospitals, rounding, first assisting in surgery, writing medications, orders for treatments, discussing terminal disease or emergent end of life care with family and patients, etc etc etc. My schooling for this position was in the form a master’s degree that cost approximately $200,000 when all said and done. I also didn’t get to continue earning income during the 27 months of nonstop school. Now I have the wonderful opportunity to pay that debt off for a cool $2500 a month for the next ten years. You know, instead of trying to save for a house, while also paying for my fiancé’s nursing education. Continuing with the job though – I average 45-50 hours a week, not hourly paid, salary, at approximately $70 an hour, again, for 40 hours of pay. This is pretty weak in the similarly expensive to LA, Orange County area. It’s not uncommon to be in one surgery for 8-10 hours with the specific surgeon I work with.
I’m not paid for all the hours I work, far from it. I have major debts to pay off in order to earn this level of income which still feels inadequate given the financial burden and cost of living.
Lets be clear, I’m not complaining about my job. I actually love it and hope to continue this position as stated immediately in this post. But when comparing the FAs attitude about being on a plane and serving someone, to my own position, I don’t have much empathy because it’s pretty cushy to be in your shoes.
Chris, best post here by far. Thank you for bringing to light the realities and inequities out there. And how completely out of touch flight attendants are.
You bring up a great point…you worked as an EMT for a few years. Which is exactly what I feel is the lifespan of most flight attendant positions. You then used this to continue your education and seek a better position. Only in the U.S. and a few other countries do you see so many elderly flight attendants…because most are smart enough to see this not as a career for life but a fun and interesting experience for a few years to determine a path. It’s at the root of why they are so unhappy. Imagine if Starbucks Baristas thought of it as a career for life?
Good on you for the work you did, the experience you obtained, and the advances you made. You are the people deserving of a lot more money. Not FA’s.
Most people don’t understand that an “hourly” wage for a flight attendant is not commensurate with most hourly wages. Being bound by the railway labor act limits how many hours flight attendants can work. Most clock an average of about 80 hours per month so a flight attendant hourly wage converts to about half of what a regular hourly worker makes. Of course flight attendants work much more than they are paid for since their clock doesn’t start until the airplane door closes. Yes, all during boarding they are unpaid, if you’re sitting at the gate, unpaid. Away from home for days and days? Only paid (except $2 per diem) when on the airplane with the door closed. So it’s not more than nurses make and no tips so less than most waitresses. Despite that they are trained to deliver first aid, CPR, fight fires and evacuate burning airplanes in under 90 seconds.
We get it, you work 80 hours a month. No need to keep bragging to us about it.
You sound like a peach. Let me guess you weren’t hired on as a flight attendant? So your a bitter old lady now
Imagine being so disconnected and a mouth piece for a corporation that will never pick you. You’re literally a trash person for writing such rubbish and outlandish lies. You do a job for a whole day and get paid for only half of it. 10 hour work days only count for 5. So go on keeping writing garbage articles.
Oh, so sorry the truth hurts. You can’t point to anything wrong in my story – and your bitterness reveals it is time for you to cease and desist from a customer-facing role. Bye Felicia.
What do you feel is adequate compensation for your skill set? Opinion pieces on how to sit in higher class cabins than you can pay for? And literally no one says “bye Felicia”, so you are bitter and corny. I don’t begrudge you your coins for hot air, why do you begrudge me mine? And it’s time to add another personality to your bitches brew….the bitter is becoming….trite.
Lol. You keep coming back for more.
Because you need to be held accountable for reporting details that inaccurately cherry pick the realities of a flight attendant’s duties and work life.
The flight attendants at American deserve every penny. It’s funny how people can comment on someone’s worth. Sanitation worker’s in NYC earn over 75,000 a year, they deserve it. UPS worker’s deserve 95,000. I know flight attendants that make over 100,000, they’re there for safety and to provide service to the flying public, yet they endure abuse on a daily basis from the flying public and very little support from the companies they work for. These mega companies are making billions, pass on the wealth to those that deserve it. So, thank you to all the flight attendants that come to work and keep us moving!
For someone who writes an airline blog, this person knows very little about flight attendants actual jobs, requirements on the job, pay structure, and skill sets (we are there mostly to save your life in an emergency situation, not to serve you drinks). A requirement of the job includes many, many unpaid hours for each trip. This is conveniently overlooked by you. Once again, the internet gives a stage to an ignorant windbag.
Blah, blah, blah. You have 10 people lining up to take your job: be thankful for it.