Flight attendants at American Airlines are mounting a campaign to restore pre-pandemic staffing levels, arguing that premium cabin passengers are not getting the service they deserve due to insufficient flight attendants onboard.
Flight Attendants At American Airlines Want Increased Staffing To Provide Great Service
A note from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), the union representing flight attendants at American Airlines, highlights the issue:
Management continues to blatantly refuse our request to restore staffing levels to pre-pandemic levels. With full services now returned and, in some cases, additional service levels added, APFA is demanding that staffing levels be restored. Our Flight Attendants take pride in delivering a premium product to our customers. Management appears only to be concerned with lowering labor costs with no regard to the impact of staffing reductions on our Flight Attendants and their ability to provide a high level of service, especially in our premium cabins on the 777-300 and A321T.
It is evident that Management never thoroughly evaluated the impact of one person performing a premium service that includes much preparation, multiple meal courses, plating, and delivering a premium service in our highest premium cabins. Based on the reports we have already received, the workload has become unreasonable and unrealistic for one person to effectively complete service to the level that our customers expect.
Previously, the APFA had pointed out, “On the premium A321T transcontinental aircraft, first class passengers are served by the galley Flight Attendant, diminishing the service our First Class customers have come to expect. Our premium customers deserve better.”
Clearly, the flight attendants do not like the increased workload without the commensurate increase in staffing. I do think AA flight attendants enjoy providing good service because that makes for happier passengers…who become more quiet passengers.
But the problem goes beyond just staffing levels.
View From the Wing proposes that AA restore staffing in exchange for targeted performance metrics for onboard service. This is a great compromise and one that will promote accountability. Just like any airline, American Airlines has great flight attendants and some bad apples. Some would argue AA has more bad apples than others, but that has not been my experience.
Nevertheless, setting clearly-defined performance standards will promote transparency and encourage good service. Off the top of my head, that would include things like:
- Proactively collecting coats and offering a pre-departure beverage
- Addressing premium passengers by name
- Thanking elites for their AAdvantage status
- Monitoring the cabin every 10 minutes throughout the flight to ensure beverages are refilled
- Wiping off the edges of meal dishes that may have splashed in the oven and arranging the tray so that it look presentable before serving
- Thanking every premium cabin passenger for their business prior to landing
These are all little things that should be occurring now…they largely do not. Current staffing levels are within the contract and FAA guidelines. If flight attendants truly want to offer premium customers better service, they should be open to more accountability in exchange for more staffing.
CONCLUSION
American Airlines’ flight attendants argue that premium service onboard is virtually impossible with current staffing levels. As the onboard offering returns to pre-pandemic levels, their concern is legitimate. However, American Airlines should not simply restore flight attendants onboard without cutting a deal to ensure that the service delivered actually is premium.
image: American Airlines
With all the premium cabin reviews lately, it’s refreshing to see you flying AA economy in the photo.
Doppelgänger for sure.
Frankly Delta is just as bad, if not worse. On a recent ATL first class wide body transcon flight I was told they would not hang my coat, soft drinks were still only 3 choices and meals were limited to a cold sandwich in a box. Clearly it takes fewer staff to hand out a box than a hot meal. Snacks were also limited to goldfish crackers or biscoff cookies, same as coach. It really is disgraceful, and while service and staffing has been cut to the bare minimum, fares are once again sky high.
Unions will never agree to accountability and staffing at AA is currently the same passages per FA as Delta and I believe United. Nothing to see here
There’s little question that AA is primarily at fault here since they chose to cut staff and now expect less people to do the same job. While that’s consistent with the incredibly bad faith AA management has shown with staff and customers, the APFA should be willing to give a little as well. Such a move by the FA’s would contrast well with the intransigence and myopia of AA management.
AA gave up premium service long before Covid. Thanks Doug Parker and team.
Bull! I’m an AA flight attendant and most crew members are just lazy. AA knows it’s premium passengers have yet to return. Fares for BC and FC are much lower than pre pandemic so if customers have to wait a bit so what? When full fare premium customers return the staffing will increase.
Clearly you are lying, retired, or on leave. Premium flyers are back and international flights are full and back to pre-pandemic service levels. I call bull on you. Fares are high again you clearly have no idea and should probably stay out of the conversation.
Oh AA cant deliver premium service, it never ever has in my considerable experience
Correction: …… PREMIUM SERVICE IMPOSSIBLE WITH CURRENT STAFF
As a Flight Attendant with AA the biggest issue is not being catered properly. We always get messages telling us how short they are on supplies. Flimsy plastic cups, short on sodas that most passengers drink, not enough snacks for a beverage service. Premium passengers depending on where they are seated won’t even get a choice of a hot meal, they get whatever is left because we get exact amount of meals for passengers. All of these problems are written up everyday in reports. Management knows about it, yet they ignore our request to have the proper tools to provide the best service for all passengers regardless of cabin class. They blamed everything on COVID. I don’t see a shortage of sodas in stores or airports around the world. It’s really frustrating apologizing on every flight for not having enough drinks, snacks and food choices. Also, please be aware that all of us board and start working right away but don’t start getting our hourly pay until that door closes and we push back. Please be kind if there is a delay, specially weather delays. Crews really dislike delays trust me. Nobody likes working, getting complains about weather delays and not get paid. During this holiday season, most of us won’t be with our families so that you can be with yours!
I appreciate the flight attendants. You do a great job in often difficult or irritating situations. First class is such a privilege and people who think they deserve it are suck jerks. I love flying first but i also recognize i am very lucky. Thanks to all the great attendants out there
Interesting article, but in my opinion completely off base. As an Elite flyer for may years I’ve had a lot of experience flying up front. Practically all the items on Matthew’s list of things that should be done, but can’t be performed due to staffing – never actually happened even before COVID. Even today, when I look at the cabin crews work – for most of the flight (flights over 3h) they are sitting around in the galley area chatting. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – but to claim poor service is due to staffing, is simply looking at the wrong problem. I would think increasing current staff pay, based on performance and customer satisfaction would go a lot longer to restoring good service.
Just my 2c.
You are absolutely correct that these items I count up did not happen prior to COVID-19. It’s precisely why I would approach the situation in the way I outline: oh, you want more flight attendants? Fine. But it will require these serve standards.
Good words outlining what all airlines offer for premium service cabins, expectations by pax, what crew should do but in actuality can’t because of union work rules, Individual crew work ethics, amount of workload with inadequate staffing no matter what reasons, lack of catering items correctly boarded, archaic training methods for onboard service flow, weather causing flts to go faster to destinations thereby forcing a more reduced or rushed service plan, and your fav and mine….the demanding “it’s all about me ” pax who feels entitled because that’s the image airlines cater to for their MONEY. Any or all aforementioned items from you or me should quell the inevitable question by intellegence-stunted pax…..”You got some ‘splaining to do Lucy”…..
10 min drink refills? Honey you need to slow down…
It’s funny that being welcomed aboard, having one’s jacket hung, and being proactively offered beverage refills is a wish list, but alas it is.
No kidding!
As an AA flight attendant, I pride myself on offering pretty much everything above. The Pre-departure is going to be increasingly more difficult with the tight boarding times and the 321s with 20 pax.
The two things I’ve always found awkward are thanking people for flying (used to be easier when we had the mints) (now it’s just the deplaning thank you) and mentioning people’s tier status. I’ve rarely found a time when people don’t want to be interupted. Do people actually like their tier status being mentioned?
Wow on the money. They all seem to have an “I don’t care attitude” Front and Back.
I’ve flown throughout the pandemic and have only had one great experience in over 80 flights he did everything except beverages preflight. Sitting in coach I don’t even get a thank you or a FU or anything in between.
I see most of them serve and sit and read their books and of course tell you all about the Aviator card.
I just flew first on AA this week from Palm Beach to Las Vegas. On all four flights full service first class returned; hot plated meals with glass and cutlery. There wasn’t any predeparture service which I haven’t expected on AA even pre-covid maybe 1 out of 10 flights. The flight attendants were great once they got started with service. Only complaint is they start service about 15 minutes late while they chit chat in the galley. I personally don’t care about being recognized for my status.
I’m always amazed at how people in general, think they can judge the service capabilities of hard working flight attendants. Imagine you’re the only flight attendant in first class. Now try completing all of what you consider necessary service on your list, plus preparing everything in the galley with time constraints, sometimes with turbulence, last minute catering issues, passenger issues to resolve, etc. With current staffing, it is impossible to do a good job, even if you’re one of those “good apples”, without the support of another flight attendant. That’s where things are right now, and they are not getting better. As usual these companies take advantage of cutbacks caused by a national emergency, and they seek to make them permanent squeezing this hard working essential group.
I am so glad I’ve retired and I don’t have to endure the abuse any longer.
I think you’re right in the sense that asking one flight attendant to do everything is too much.
I experienced this on a 737-800 on AA recently from LAX-ORD. She had to take all the drink and breakfast orders, prepare everything in the galley, deliver it, then collect it. She did it well and was all smiles — she shows it can be done. But still, it was greatly delayed and could have done so much more efficiently if she had another FA working with her.
Not to mention the stress you’re putting her/him under. Without even factoring in security issues, abusive passengers, and the list goes on… Sadly nowadays nobody cares about the human behind the job. Then you wonder why people under this much pressure fail to deliver to their potential, or sometimes they even snap.
Next time you fly, think about these things.
But it’s also reasonable to ask how carriers around the world can offer such superior service (not in terms of friendliness, necessarily, but in terms of soft product) on flights of similar length or in many cases much shorter length.
Are you talking about carriers such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines, and such? That’s where the superior service is, and also the staffing is sometimes double of what American Airlines uses. Try doing that research.
I usually have loved your blog, but, the idea that you consider returning to adequate staffing levels as a negotiating point to hold out against flight attendants proves how little you respect the humanity of the person working in that role. Micromanaging flight attendants and not putting trust in them to do the job they were trained to do is a very negative and condescending point of view of these professionals. This viewpoint is very similar to how both teachers and nurses are treated in The United States. The reality is that it is the responsibility of American Airlines as an enterprise to provide adequate staffing levels, period. If American Airlines separately wants to address performance on some customer service points with some flight attendants, that is a separate issue. They are not related at all. Also, American Airlines received a lot of money from the Federal Government in Covid19 bailout money, with the expectation that they would keep adequate staffing levels. It is time for American Airlines to restore the trust that American taxpayers put in them, by returning to pre-pandemic staffing levels right away.
Another important fact is :
FAA minimum crew requirements are calculated for evacuation purposes only, NOT for service. Companies like AA are trying to get staffing to FAA minimum crew for good, while introducing elaborate services again. Passengers want their egos stroked and expect 1970’s frills. There’s a disconnect there. The price of an airline ticket has not changed much since the 70’s (literally), but oil prices, cost of living and executive compensation have gone through the roof! So where is the adjustment done? Staffing and employee compensation.
Airlines provide transportation. They are not flying luxury hotels/restaurants any more (unless they are subsidized by rich governments, like Emirates, or they have a compassionate, sane CEO, like Japan Airlines).
I travel with a bottle of water, my preferred snacks, back pillow and whatever other items I need. If there’s an emergency, I trust the Flight Attendants to do their real job. I am responsible for my own comfort and happiness. Everyone should try it!