American Airlines unions are angry. A memo released by the Allied Pilots Association (APA) this week highlights a joint union summit in which multiple labor groups pledged closer cooperation to push back against management. But while the rhetoric is fiery, the unions may be missing the core problem at American Airlines.
Unions At American Airlines Are Angry, But They Miss The Core Problem
The APA characterized the summit as a historic moment in cross-union collaboration:
“This landmark union leadership summit reflects our unified commitment to protecting our members, improving working conditions, and securing a more prosperous future for us and for American Airlines while demanding increased management accountability. We are committed to maintaining a cohesive, coordinated labor coalition to address the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Topics discussed include:
- The impact of management’s peer-trailing financial performance on employees and other stakeholders and on American Airlines’ operational performance.
- Cross-union solidarity and coordinated advocacy.
- Increased labor inclusion and increased management transparency and accountability.
- Joint proposals for operational and service improvements that include greater employee empowerment and enhanced employee protections.
This collaboration marks a significant step toward a more unified, impactful labor movement at American Airlines.”
The union is right to be concerned that American continues to trail Delta and United in financial performance, with both pulling further ahead each year. And yet One Mile At A Time raises an excellent point in wondering, “It’s understandable that union members want to look out for their own interests. But if the goal is to actually look at American’s trailing financial performance, some of the focuses the unions have are a bit questionable. For example, ‘joint proposals for operational and service improvements that include greater employee empowerment and enhanced employee protections.’ Okay, the first part of that sounds great, but how exactly do “enhanced employee protections” play into service improvements?”
That issue in particular calls into question the practicality and motives of this entire discussion. Employee empowerment? Sure. But employee protections? What does that mean? Eliminating the pre-arrival beverage service (again)?
What Is The Root Of The Problem At American Airlines?
The unions are right to call out American’s peer-trailing financial performance and management inconsistency. But the deeper problem is not lower revenue or profit; that’s a symptom of the root problem, namely American’s lack of a coherent product and brand strategy. While Delta and United have differentiated themselves (Delta through operational reliability and service consistency, United through global network and premium positioning) American has muddled along without a clear identity. It tries to be all things to all people, and ends up being none of them particularly well…this is hardly rocket science.
It also made strategic blunders like retiring widebody aircraft during the pandemic premarutrey, something it is still recovering from, and Vasu Raja’s tenure was marked by not just indecision, but incredibly poor discernment when it came to AA’s route network.
That lack of clarity filters down to employees. When flight attendants, pilots, and mechanics feel they are simply running out the clock rather than part of a larger mission, morale suffers. The frustration is real, but even if every labor demand was met tomorrow, the underlying problem would remain: a company without a vision inspires neither employees nor customers.
American Airlines’ management needs to be held accountable, yes, but not just for wages, work rules, or profit margins. The airline’s leadership has to articulate what American is supposed to stand for in 2025 and beyond and then deliver. Without that, the cycle of labor malaise and customer disappointment will continue, no matter how many summits the unions hold.
And as I’ve said before, the little things matter.
Let me put it another way. Three of my last four AA flights have been delayed. Two mechanical delays, one crew scheduling delay. During those delays, the app was worthless in helping to reaccommodate me on other flights and get me on my way. Onboard, internet cost $28 while it is free on Delta and $8 (and soon to be free) on United. Over and over again, I’ve written about AA aricraft in a state of disrepair, with broken seats, screens, and power outlets (plus dirt and grime). It cannot be that I’m just experiencing “bad luck” flight after flight.
On the other hand, there is great potential at American Airlines. The new 787-9 is beautiful and A321XLRs are coming. The food is excellent and the crews can be great…my last few certainly have been nice. In AA’s defense, the repeated aircraft delivery delays from both Airbus and Boeing are beyond its control and have hampered growth. And, AA currently has the best loyalty program in the business among the “Big Three” network carriers with excellent value both domestically and internationally.
I don’t believe the battle between United and American is a zero-sum game; the pie is big enough for both AA and UA to grow.
As for the workers, the path to more profits is not through “enhanced employee protections” but by getting employees to buy into the strategic vision of the airline, which, of course, requires a clearly articulated strategic vision.
CONCLUSION
The unions are not wrong to demand accountability from management, but they are aiming at the symptoms rather than the disease. “Solidarity” and “employee empowerment” may ease frustration in the short term, but they do not solve American Airlines’ deeper problem: a lack of vision and consistency that leaves both employees and customers disillusioned. The airline has the network, the fleet, and even flashes of excellence that could make it a true global leader. What it lacks is leadership that can clearly define what American Airlines should stand for and then rally the workforce around that mission (and stick to it). Until that happens, union summits will come and go, grievances will pile up, and passengers will continue to ask themselves why flying American so often feels like a gamble.
image: American Airlines // hat tip: PYOK
100% on management accountability, which is long overdue at AA, and really is on the shareholders, which the union members are part of in most cases.
But the unions share the blame based on the service reviews from many here and elsewhere online. As for the delays, I have been dealing with the same recently. 3 hour delay last week in Montana and had to run thru ORD last week and only made my connection, the last of the day, because that flight had a 90 minute delay. Unacceptable. And those are just a few of the many lately so it obviously an issue with maintenance, which is both management and union employees.
To me these are the biggest issues and complaints about a PDB are minor when compared to the bigger issues. But I saved enough to buy a $5 bottle of water before my flight, however I do understand that apparently is an issue for many successful “businessmen” here. The attitude of some FA’s overall with service is a far bigger issue.
By the way, some are incredible, I was the only EP on a flight last week (small plane departing MT) and the FA came to me and offered me my choice of lunch box before anyone else. Small things like that make a huge difference and take little extra effort.
As much as I’m loyal to AA I’m not optimistic about the future of the airline without major changes in culture, top to bottom. I hope I’m wrong.
@Dave … Well said .
They need to get rid of all the holdovers from HP and anyone that learned from them… total house cleaning. It’s a shame really, it felt like AA was heading in the right direction before the merger (at least from a Passenger perspective),
Living in Chicago, it would be very easy for me to fly AA when I go to places like DFW and MIA, but they are my currently my last option.
That’s very telling BB, you should be their target customer on those route.
And I don’t disagree about the America West leftovers.
Billy Bob,
You are totally correct about AA management that took control of American in the 2013 merger. I am currently a retiree with 34 years of experience. I was so glad I was able to retire late last year and get away from the America West/USAir management that is running the airline into the ground.
Our customer service has suffered because of the many stupid decisions they have made in running the company. Most AA employess before the merger can see a big difference in the way Robert Crandall ran the company and the way Doug Parker and Isom have run the company.
I just can’t understand why the board of directors has not removed the current mangagement at AA because of their poor performance. This was once a great company that I was proud to work for but things changed for the worse after the merger. You can just ask any AA employee from before the merger and they will tell you the same thing I am saying here.
I don’t see anything wrong in the claim that there’s a link between employment protections and customer experience. Generally speaking, employees who are content in their jobs and confident in their career prospects will tend to perform better than those who are disengaged or in fear of losing their jobs.
There’s copious research on organisational behaviour by people who certainly know more about that stuff than I do, and likely a lot more than OMAAT does.
Trade unions that are invested in the success of an employer can give early warning of issues which management might discover a lot later. It doesn’t matter whether one agrees with their analysis – the mere fact that they’re proactively looking at things from a business perspective can only be a good thing for the airline.
The unions job is to watch out for members, something the airline certainly doesn’t ever do. That said it would help if unions would push back against the ULCC mentality AA has excelled at since the USAir merger. If the unions only fight when it’s convenient for them then the pretense of striving for a better airline, with the rising-tide-lifts-all-ships perspective, looks pretty hollow. Coming up with a firm list of changes that would help employees and the airline would be a good first step in improving things. Perhaps they could ask for capable management, although that’s a huge ask. Oscar Munoz did a spectacular job turning United around and getting employees motivated; Maybe he’s still available.
Yea, Oscar would be great if they wanted to introduce a Taco Tuesday meal. Otherwise he’s busy dodging ICE.
Oscar is a birthright citizen who serves on the Defense business board of the United States Department of Defense. So I doubt he’s hiding from ICE. Why do you think he would be?
Dave thinks every Latino is illegal.
Because, if you feel secure in your job, you will be able to focus on your job duties. Otherwise, you always wonder,, if today is the day you get your notice.
Most of the problems seen and mentioned here are management created by cost cutting. Reducing the number of flight attendants to minimum FARs on most flights kills moral and service. Reducing cleaning contracts and the constant quick turns reduce aircraft cleaning and repairs. And on and on.
BTW, when Am West bought US Airways they kept the name and brought in Am West management. They have run it into the current state.
They are late on some segment on every single journey in the last year and I don’t think anyone cares or, perhaps, can do anything about it. They have a product that barely surpasses Sprint or Frontier. That ain’t saying anything. I fly internationally monthly. Last five years all but a couple were on BA and partners. This year, once and I regretted it sitting at LHR while they tried to resolve blizzare problems. Nine hours late to DFW and no connecting flights home-cancelled. Sigh…used to be great many years ago but I think most of those people are gone.
AA not BA …sorry
Let me write a few simple goals for both AA employees and management:
#1 Make Customers #1. Not sometimes. Not when conditions permit it, Not most of the time. Always. Allow me to repeat: ALWAYS.
#2 No business can succeed without clearly stated, simple objectives. Everyone will know each objective and can recite them at any time. Failure to live each objective, each day, is grounds for remedial training and discussion. Failure to get onboard is grounds for immediate dismissal.
#3. The Customer is #1 in everything that we say and do.
#4 Every employee, from the lowliest baggage handler to the CEO, owns every part of the business. Example: If you see a dirty tray table, you own that. If you can’t fix it, find someone who can. Or if the see a part hanging from the engine cowling, fix it. If you can’t fix it, find someone who can. Every employee is a business owner.
And #5 The Customer is always #1.
And I’ll be damned if I saw any part of any of the above in what those hoggish AA employees are demanding. Either they embrace each of the above, or their business will (and should) fail.
EdSparks58
I started my last summer trip in 2025 by flying with Finnair from LAX to Helsinki. I used Finnair for all my flights around Europe in the past six weeks. It turned out to be a fantastic airline! Everything from their special ice glassware, blueberry juice, Karl Fazer chocolates, to their tasty warm cinnamon buns made the experience feel special. These small touches really stood out. On top of that, the customer service was excellent—the flight attendants were friendly and seemed proud of their jobs.
For my return flight, I flew with American Airlines from London Heathrow to Los Angeles on to San Francisco. The difference was shocking—it felt like a big downgrade. The service and food quality on American Airlines were disappointing. The plane was an old Boeing 777-300, the seats weren’t in good condition, and the power port at my seat (3J) didn’t work. When I woke up at home the next morning, I still had a bad aftertaste from the chicken dish I ate during the flight. I even wrote an email to American Airlines to say I regretted spending so much on them. I have two million miles in my AAdvantage account, but now I wish I had earned those miles with on another airline. USAir Management ran a great airline to the ground.
I really don’t agree that American Airlines serves good food. Before landing, my pre-arrival meal with hummus and falafel, was so bad I couldn’t even eat it.
I also find the catering in the Chelsea Lounge at JFK to be on par with cafeteria food.
During my last visit in June I waited almost 30 minutes to be served and this is their signature lounge?