The union representing flight attendants at American Airlines has put out an angry note condemning the return of a second beverage service on longer flights in economy class. Does the union make a reasonable point or is this just a perfect example of flight attendants being lazy?
American Airlines Flight Attendants Are Angry About Return Of Second Beverage Service
JonNYC shared a note from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) to the AA flight attendants it represents. The union claims the additional beverage service is unworkable for two reasons: not enough drinks are loaded, and staffing is insufficient.
This thinly veiled lie is a slap in the face to not just to every Flight Attendant but our passengers as well. With no changes to the catering currently supplied on the aircraft and no additional Flight Attendants to accomplish this service, American Airlines has set us all up for frustration and failure. Management’s reversal on service makes it abundantly clear: their arbitration argument was never about what was operationally sustainable — it was about cutting corners at the expenses of both the passengers and the Flight Attendants.
American Airlines management continues to demand more work from fewer Flight Attendants, all under the misleading tagline of “enhancing the customer experience.” Sadly, American’s onboard product has fallen behind our competitors in every cabin, and passengers have taken notice. So has Wall Street. The dismal first quarter 2025 financial results made it clear: the lack of meaningful investment in the inflight experience is hurting the brand — and American’s bottom line.
The first point, if true, is valid. If flight attendants are being asked to perform as second beverage service and there are not sufficient beverages loaded to conduct this service, then everyone loses…it’s unacceptable. Note, however, the union does not allege that there are insufficient drinks onboard to perform a second service…only that more are not being provisioned. I’m not saying that chicanery, but it could be…
The union is also angry that AA promised to make this service reduction permanent, but has now backtracked. It quotes (former) Vice President of Inflight and Premium Guest Services Brady Byrnes:
“So we’ve never gone back out and communicated anything different than this one. So this is our current service footprint that we have today.”
Memo to flight attendants: Byrnes was fired because he was such an ineffective leader. You complain about the lack of profits and now complain that AA is trying to do something to address it?
Flight Attendants Are Directing Their Anger At The Wrong Source
I recognize that flight attendants are unhappy about international widebody staffing. It’s a valid grievance, especially if AA wants to be a premium carrier. There should be a dedicated galley flight attendant and slow service does not build loyalty.
One flight attendant explained, “It’s like asking the chef to wait tables, bus dishes, and cook dinner, and then wondering why your food is cold.” A valid point indeed.
But I don’t find this argument persuasive in the context of a second beverage service on domestic flights. It’s like teachers saying that they cannot teach because they don’t like the teacher-pupil ratio. It’s like taxpayers saying they won’t pay taxes because they don’t like the way the government spends money.
Sorry, but you (flight attendants) negotiated and signed a contract last year. That was your chance to renegotitate widebody staffing in the contract. Even more importantly, we’re talking about mostly narrowbody staffing in this context and staffing on 737 or A320 jets has not changed since before the pandemic…AA has long kept it at the minimums required by the Federal Aviation Administration.
I return to my recent horrible transcon flight on American Airlines (in first class to boot). Flight attendants performed a beverage service and then hid in the galley for he remainder of the flight. What possible “work” between hours 2 and 5 of the flight was taking place beyond collecting trash before landing?
It’s absurd to say that a second beverage service is too much work on flights over 1,500 miles. Sorry, it’s pure laziness and the inadequate international widebody staffing is an unrelated problem, not an excuse to protest this small service restoration that merely matches what the competition offers.
CONCLUSION
While I’m highly sympathetic to insufficient staffing on international widebody jets, I’m not buying the griping over the restoration of a second beverage service in economy class on flights over 1,500 miles. It is valid to ask AA to ensure beverage carts are sufficiently stocked, but the idea that there is not enough time or resources to provide a beverage service on a narrobwody jet is laughably absurd.
image: American Airlines
“I’m not saying that chicanery, but it could be…” A union involved with chicanery, what a rare occurrence. And, thanks, I now have typed the word chicanery fir the first two times in my life.
“I’m shocked — shocked — to find that gambling is going on in here!”
So glad I took my losses on my AA stock holdings before the most recent losses. With employees like this there is zero chance they turn it around when it comes to just BASIC customer service expectations.
While I run into some incredible AA FA’s in both FC and Economy, they are the exception not the norm. The rest are just going through the motions. The question becomes are they naturally lazy as you suggested, or has time and a Union that encourages laziness created this culture at AA? AA management has their share of blame too but here they did something that should be a positive and the union is fighting it.
Lazy is the answer.
A neurosurgeon doing an 8 hour surgery keeps working and does not take breaks. A roofer takes breaks but is working most of the time. A cashier at a busy grocery store is continuously working.
If a flight is 2000 miles then it might be in the air for 4 hours. 4 hours of work is not even a full day’s work. Even adding 2 hours before and 1 hour afterwards is less than 8 hours.
Have they even tried before complaining? As to the provisions, I think the more used, more will be loaded. Not all passengers will want a second drink but it’s nice to be asked when possible.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there are already issues with FA’s about understocking drinks and snacks when there is only one service rotation. While unused drinks can always be used on another flight, every additional can of soda that doesn’t get consumed on a flight has a marginal fuel cost (that is minuscule on its own but adds up quickly at scale). Especially given that any drinks or snacks loaded for the second service run will be adding to fuel costs longer, it wouldn’t surprise be if the bean counters and consultants err even more on the side of understocking for that service round than overstocking. Even if that’s not the case, if running out of certain items is already a problem with one service round, why would FA’s have any confidence in AA to properly stock flights when there are 2?
When you are in a customer service facing position, it’s always better to underpromise and overdeliver. It must be incredibly frustrating to be forced into a situation where you have to be the face of underdelivering, when you aren’t responsible for overpromising to the customer in the first place. I’m sure there are plenty of FA’s who just knee jerk oppose anything that adds more things to their job description, but I’m there there are just as many more who are frustrated with AA announcing all of these service enhancements when the airline isn’t even providing the necessary support to FA’s to maintain AA’s existing service standards, which are consistently slightly lower than their Big 3 competitors.
I think that I could manage on any 2h+ flight, as a young person who has no experience.
Many airline pundits love to blame management for everything wrong with an airline. More often than not, it’s not quite that simple.
But how will they be able to finish their 6-hour “sit in the galleys on our phones and gossip” breaks?
A second drink service in economy? Too much work! Answering a call-bell? Too much work! Putting down your phone and leaving the galley after making a half-assed effort to throw third-rate food at first class? Too much work!
There’s an endless queue of youngsters who’d love to have your job, grandma & grandpa, so get off your ever-expanding heines and do the goddamn work they pay you for.
AA F/A ON A 9 HOUR FLIGHT GET ABOUT 3 HRS REST TIME AND THE GO UP THE ISLES 2OR 3 TIMES FOR THE ENTIRE FLIGHT AND GET PAID GOOD MONEY AND PERKS THEY ARE THE WORST F/A EVER I WILL NEVER FLY AA FOR THERE HORRIBLE RUDE F/A
Not so premium service equals not so premium profits. Less profit sharing.
There is a reason why American makes much less money than United and Delta. One drink on a 5 hour transcon is poor service. That is just one comparison point. Delta and United are simply better in economy.