Following a lawsuit filed by the State of New York against American Airlines, attention has been drawn to their Flight Attendant sick leave policy. I have published it here.
If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.
If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.
The Document
A flight attendant for American Airlines reached out to share the sick leave policy that has recently been the focus of a lawsuit against American Airlines in New York. I do not claim to be a journalist, I am a blogger, but I want to be clear about the provenance of this document.
It was sent to me by an employee I believe to be currently at the airline and genuine. I did not acquire the document by nefarious means, it was sent to me from what appears to be a paper copy that they photographed. I have reached out to American in the past to no avail, so I have not waited to publish until they had an opportunity to confirm or deny; a flat denial to comment on internal documents is the most likely outcome anyhow.
What It Says About American Airlines
Looking at the policy, I don’t see it as unduly harsh. I have been sympathetic to employee concerns at American Airlines for some time, commenting on flight attendant difficulties as well as those of mechanics. I have also been vocal that Doug Parker and senior leadership should find a new place to work.
That said, the policy allows for up to 50 sick days in a rolling 12-month calendar as long as they are not during critical periods. Late reports outside of contractually agreed notice periods are allowed up to ten times in the same 12-month rolling calendar. That seems incredibly generous.
As a business segment manager, I couldn’t see how I could run the business with an employee out for up to five days ten times throughout the year. However, I also find the concept of not being able to get sick inside of a notice period during a critical period such as Thanksgiving to be a little unforgiving.
What Leak Says About Flight Attendants
Flight attendants aren’t happy with much at American Airlines these days. This leak comes following a large number of flight attendants that have voiced their concern over the last few months. They just aren’t happy and are not getting any happier. Everything feels like a step too far and some of that may be down to the contract that their unions have secured with the airline, regardless of whether collusion between the carrier and union reps is founded.
Conclusion
The sick policy seems generous from a business management perspective of someone who does not work in the airline industry and does not manage union employees. The state of New York claims there are violations and I would imagine that they are founded claims if they have brought suit. The document sheds light on what that sick policy is and some flight attendants remain upset about it.
What do you think? Is American Airlines sick policy for flight attendants reasonable? How would you change it if you had such authority?
A dacodrian policy better suited for Walmart than a major unionized airline. Then again, Parker, Isom, and his union leader cousin are all better suited to run a Walmart.
I’m assuming all of the ee’s can dance, yes? Because to complain about that kind of leave they must be primadonna ballerinas…. no offense to ballerinas of course. Ridiculous..
Ralph, do you mean, “draconian”?
There was an arbitration a month or so ago between the APFA and AA, a decision hasn’t been announced yet. Why wasn’t this in the article?
Oh THANK YOU!!!! I’m so glad that you pointed that out. But don’t they (Walmart) have a DUI policy as well?
Assessing two points for being sick over a designated holiday/critical period is outrageous. Pity the poor flight attendant who wakes up ill the day of their trip…another two points!
Try 6 sick days in a rolling calendar year
Flight attendant schedules are much different than a 9 to 5. 6 days is equivalent to one trip in some cases so there’s no way that would even be near adequate.
I can actually somewhat confirm this. I used to work as a ticket/gate agent and the policy for us was almost exactly the same
Flight attendants do not work 6 days in a row. At the most, it is 4 days.
I’m a flight attendant and this entire summer have worked 6 days then one day off and worked another 6 days then had a day off then worked another 6 and finally had a good amount of days off.
Not sure where you got your information but as an international flight attendant I can assure you we can and do work 6 days in a row depending on the destination
Correction!!! It is 6 and if you happen to have a 24hr layover somewhere (meaning you are NOT HOME, but in a hotel somewhere) they can AND DO, actually back up 3 and 4 day trips. Meaning you are working 7-8 days IN A ROW. It happens!
This is so funny and shows what kind of premadonnas we are dealing with. You can miss up to how many shifts, 50?! There are other union points systems out there that are worse than this one. MUCH worse, and we don’t complain. Flight attendants are over paid bartenders at 40,000 ft. Put on your big girl/boy pants and get to work. Stop complaining about every little small thing you can think of. Remember if it’s that bad you can quit and do something different. And don’t ever forget that there are people out there who would kill to have your job at your salary.
The fact this is what you think about the safety professionals that sacrifice time with their love ones to make sure your friends and family make it home safe and sound is astonishing. You sound like a moron. Also your math is way off. Flight attendants are exposed to 100 times more viruses and bacteria than the average person. It’s like working in an actual Petri dish. In that environment you’re bound to get sick. Not even considering other non-sick related things that are bound to happen on a daily (which is all inclusive under this policy). Point systems like this don’t suite this work group. Other jobs it would be reasonable. With this line of work it’s not only unsuitable but punitive. Another thing, just because other people have it worse doesn’t mean flight attendants are any less worthy of the common decency. Maybe those others worker groups should fight and attain something better. Familiarize yourself with the actual day to day of these folks lives and maybe then you’ll get it.
Zero paid sick days for railroaders.
Really James ??! And you are mentally too young to have access to something so powerful as a computer with internet access!!!!
Unless you work in the Airline Industry and understand how schedules and trips work, how many days you are away etc. please do not comment. Flight Att don’t work a regular 9-5 job, 40 hours a week. To compare this sick policy to a normal job is just plain ignorant. The author of this article should have gotten the facts on how it works as a flight att and then might fully understand why they are so upset. To say its fair is quite the understatement if you actually understood how there schedules are constructed etc.
Plenty of current American flight attendants were upset by it. Hence, why it was leaked in the first place.
Thanks Seth – I was speechless when I read David’s response. Overpaid bartenders? When an emergency breaks out in mid flight at 40,000ft, I bet the last thing he’ll be looking for is a Jack & Coke.
I was the flight attendant who held the umbilical cord for another flight attendant to tie off and cut during an inflight delivery, I was the flight attendant that dislodged a small toy from the throat of a dying infant. I was the flight attendant that asked 140 passengers individually if they had anti seizure medicine for a struggling teen flying alone, I was the flight attendant that held your 90 year old mothers hand as we switched planes twice during and unscheduled plane change. During 9-11 I was the flight attendant who died with my throat slit by a box cutter fighting to keep the hijackers out of the cockpit. Overpaid primadonna. You’re an uneducated ass. You think I’ll run back into inky black smoke on a burning plane to get you? Think again. 40 years of doing this and I still love helping people because it’s what we do, along with sleeping on airport floors and being sick as a dog from the constant bacterial and viral soup we work in .
Wait wait, you’re dead?
Wait wait you are stupid? And I’m just going to guess you’ve never worked for am airline so you really can’t speak to these issues. Sharon….Shhhhh & sit down.
And yes beautiful said Blake!
@ Sharon lol
Wonderfully said!!!!!
David, you clearly don’t think about the safety aspect of it, do you? They’re changed with your safety first, serving drinks second.
David,
Have you worked the job? Have you attended the training? Doubtful. You know nothing about my job except what you see from your crammed in no leg room seat. The only premadonna in this post is you. I know nothing about what you do to provide for your family and wouldn’t walk around acting as if I do. Wake up a nice person tomorrow. It will be better for your health and those around you.
This blog post misses the main point of contention here. This “sick policy” is only applied to the predominantly female flight attendant work force. The predominantly male PILOT workforce has no such disciplinary policy. So no matter how draconian or generous one views this policy to be – it is not applied equally across the workforce and is discriminatory.
Wonderfully said. People don’t understand how hard it is to be a flight attendant it’s not just traveling around the world. It’s hard work!!
Bartender don’t evacuate an airplane in 90 seconds and don’t resucitate people during medical emergencies at 40,000 feet. Bartenders (nothing wrong with being one) don’t leave their love ones during holidays to deal with assholes like you based on your condescending comment! Flight Attendants are safety professionals that are actually underpaid not on board to serve drinks. In case you don’t know they have the authority to kick you off a flight regardless of your status or cost of your ticket.
Except 99% of the time they aren’t doing any of those safety activities. Almost all attendants will never have to evacuate a plane. As for points, within 12 months, they can miss more work than I can. Unless they “get sick” every holiday, they’re fine. And someone who is conveniently sick every holiday in 12 months is most likely playing the system. They chose their careers, signed the contract terms. If I don’t like my job, I find a new one. Go find something else to be fake outraged by.
Not all jobs deal with being enclosed with lots of people breathing the same circulating air, touching cups and napkins other people have used. Picking up blankets and pillows. There is so much touching of things not avoidable. When a toilet or sink mess up or someone throws up there are no custodial workers. The altitude changes don’t help. It’s a dirty job with people there to serve you. Flight Attendants need all the sick time in the world. Your body goes through so much that it never can get use to. The work is actually very abusive to your body and health. It’s not the glamours job people think it is and most flight attendants can not afford the travel outside the free to low cost plane ticket. Many flight attendants can’t even afford high prices food in airports so meals are packed for days. Have some symptom flight attendants!
David, this article doesn’t even explain how these points work. Let’s say I am sick with a cold or flu my trip is a 2 day trip I call out for for it and I get a point. 4 days later I am still sick with the flu I call out again and get a second point even though I have sick time I am essentially getting in trouble for getting sick.. we are not overpaid bartenders we are safety professionals and when you are on an aircraft and there is an emergency you better hope everyone is fit to fly and not sick and just there so they don’t get a point.
The policy does NOT allow up to 50 sick days in a rolling 12-month calendar – they are fined (1) point for EACH sick day regardless of medical necessity. So if they are out 3 days they are charged (1) point for each day that equals 3.
1 sick day = 1 point 3 sick days = 3 points *If you accumulate 8 points within a year you are terminated!
This is true for crew, pilots, flight attendants and ground crew. if you get sick 8 days, maybe you have COVID or you contracted the Flu on one of your flights, you are very likely to be terminated. Now lets consider national average sick leave policies such as If you work for a large corporation lets use the example of a Financial Company a bank – Bank employees who are out sick 5 or more days due to medical illness (5 consecutive sick days) count as one (1) sick day. You are mistaken: It’s not 50 sick days its only a total of 8 and then your fired
You’re information is incorrect. Flight attendants are not allowed 50 sick days,! I do not know where you are seeing this. Days 1-5 earn 1 point. 6 points and above earn 2 points. After 4 points you are put on a warning. At 10 points you can be let go. You earn 4:30 hours of sick for per month. Please correct this mistake. One does not choose when to be sick. If it is during a holiday, for which they are only paid for 3 in a year at ,$75.00 a day, even the 2-5 day period can garner 2 points as punishment. Remember that they are “dinged” an extra point even though they are not being paid holiday pay. More to the story then you have written.
A friend is a pilot for a company who will remain nameless, But their sick leave policy is very generous. There are no doctors notes required or any other dramatics/hoops other than a simple declaration, that one is ill and unable to work. This is in consideration that sometimes one might be ill because they have had too much alcohol night before and may not be in the proper condition to fly. I think making this policy lenient for most of the year makes up for the fact that you can’t have half of your workforce call in sick on Thanksgiving simply because they want more time with their family.
Pilots don’t have a points system. It’s strictly for flight attendants.
You’re comment is incorrect. Pilots and flight attendants do not have the same sick policy. Pilots are NOT governed by a point system!
“YOUR comment”, not “YOU’RE comment”. Just a friendly note. Cheers.
I am flight attendant for a major airline and shall remain anonymous, being in the industry for 20 + years , you may get into a car accident was out for 2 weeks from injuries , you will definitely get the flu , which I have caught the H1N1 from passengers and was out for 2 1/2 weeks. I have had pneumonia 4 times , had a high risk pregnancy , suffered miscarriage, you get On the Job Injury, I can go and on all the while i would have been terminated under this ridiculous policy . Flight attendants have one of the most health hazardous careers between the exposure to disease and germs, injuries from turbulence, and high exposure to radiation ( flight crews or 2 nd highest exposed to radiation under astronauts deemed by CDC.) it’s not a coincidence that many have had cancer and to think the flight attendants should be feared to get terminated for points accrued if they are sick. While the pilots have no sick policy at all , and a much more lenient policy for other work groups. It should be Unlawful
You sir are either the most unlucky person in the universe or a flat out liar.
Sure, you might get divorced, catch the flu, and get in a car accident, but assuming all these things require you to take off more than 5 days at a go, you still would be able to miss as many as 4 days at a time in 3 different incidents and that is above and beyond your contractual allowances of missed trips and personal days. PER YEAR
How many times are you getting divorced and in car accidents in a 20 year career?!?!
If you think the terms of this policy are unreasonable you need to find different employment
Well, it is the policy but I can tell you first hand that it is not followed by the inflight management. It’s almost a joke. You don’t want to work the trip you have, just don’t show up then make an excuse and your in flight manager will erase the occurence. I am speaking as an insider
I am a flight attendant at a regional airline. I’m trying to get hired by mainline American. I wouldn’t complain about this policy at all. They have no idea how good they have it.
Seriously
Having worked on tracking FMLA for flight attendants of a major airline I can understand there being to be additional accountability around critical periods. During holidays the number of FMLA being applied doubled easily and often more then tripled. It was sad to see. Then when your take into account other flight attendants have to pick up the slack (working into days off) it protects the rest of their population. Please note of FMLA is being used they wouldn’t get penalized, so if someone truly had a chronic condition getting sick on a holiday would not matter and for those without chronic illness… Well they shouldn’t be in danger because of an extra point if they are sick around Christmas. If they are surely there are other issues.
Not everyone qualifies for FMLA. When I came back from an on the job injury, I had to work for 12 months and get in the required amount of flying in order to apply. With my sensitivity to the toxic twin hill uniforms that others were wearing I was sick often that first year and barely got in enough time to qualify to apply.
I know flight attendants that can back to work after being off for cancer treatments. They too could not apply for FMLA because they needed 12 months of flying the required hours to apply.
True, you have to have been employed at your company for 1 year and had to have worked 1250 hours over the previous 12 months. But there are other methods — Workers Comp, personal leave of absence, etc. Have you sought out other ways to take time off for extended absences other than just calling out?
At the legacy side I worked for I didn’t know anyone that had FMLA. We had a very good sick policy. Policy, btw, not contractual. After the merger they had supervisors in the crew lounge passing out FMLA application forms!
I never had it, never needed it but was astonished to find out that while I had been out over a year on a workmans comp injury they had applied for and used my 12 weeks of eligibility on my behalf. Good thing I didn’t need for something on my own, not a work related injury.
Seems to me like you wouldn’t be assessed for the car accident, the H1N1, high risk pregnancy, and all other issues are federally protected absences under FMLA and you would not get charged points.
Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.Long days short layovers,exposed to coughing ,vomiting,sneezing,reeking,hoards of passengers by the HUNDREDS leg after leg in an enclosed cabin filled with recycled air {only the pilots get the good stuff} To say nothing of the fact that they are faced with hostile nut jobs
who think opening emergency exits mid flight is fun. You my friend sound like a clueless midlevel manager who wants to be king
Have you stopped to think that maybe you are in the wrong job?
Yes. The job should’ve come with full entitlement, since flight attendant is “there for the safety of the passenger” even tough they’re not trained in skills of interalia: martial arts or paramedics or firefighters. They do, however, trained to boss around passenger, not to help anyone who can’t carry their own bag, or not to smile, and create silly reasons for any of the abovementioned… Hahaha
Points in the AA systeem are awarded even when doctor’s orders stipulate that you are too sick/injured to report to work. Also, the system awards points after a 1 year look back during which time legacy USAirways flight attendants were operating under a contract which did not award points
and permitted sick time with a doctor’s note. Now they are penalized for conduct that was contractual during the 1 year look back. The system is harshly punitive and the flight attendant group is the ONLY work group subject to such discipline, forcing workers to come to work while sick or face termination.
You sound bitter James, the kind of guy who has hit in flight attendants and totally gotten rejected every time.
The simple fact is that if crew members feel they’re job is threatened by justifiably calling in sick for a trip, their alternative is to fly while sick.
This does two very unacceptable things:
1- it endangers the sick crewmember whose resistance is already compromised, and increases the possibility of them worsening the illness they came to work with, and
2- it spreads their virus to hundreds of passengers and coworkers they encounter throughiut their day.
Do you also notice that the 1 pt penalty is the same if they’re late or if they call in sick? If I knew I’m late, why would I break my neck trying to get to work if the penalty is the same?
Punitive solutions rarely work.
Why haven’t they gone the route of rewarding responsible attendance? Maybe paying an incentive for working on holidays? Or a bonus for a clean record?
It’s the old honey vs vinegar, and clearly American is as sour as they get.
Your job would only be at risk for calling in sick if you already called in sick for nearly TWO MONTHS that year. (Yes, you could also be at risk if you chronically call in on holidays or only one day at a time)
Choosing to remain anonymous here, I am a flight attendant for a major IS carrier, formerly a wholly owned regional. I have work sick regularly. Both at the regional, and now at the mainline. I don’t know what flight attendants can just not show up for a trip with no repercussions, but as a reserve I can tell you, I risk losing my job calling in sick, so I just don’t. I had a miscarriage two months ago in the middle of a three day trip on July 5th and was given grief for calling in sick during a trip.
I totally agree with you!!!
F U
Are you allowed to make those photograph/document public? Or this just a hearsay?
It’s very draconian because they don’t accept doctors notes. There are no excused absences at all. So many employees get an FMLA to get around that policy. So the sick employees stay and cannot get fired because they have 1 or more FMLAs. The healthy employees can get fired because they don’t accept doctors notes.
If you are at work and get sick that’s still a point.
If you are late you still get a point so people just call out sick if they are going to be late. And these points don’t fall off. If you get a level 3 it stays in your file for 12 months. It’s insane. You are looking at this from an employer who cannot afford any employee to call out sick. Try looking at it from a humanitarian standpoint.
This sick call policy is designed to fire longtime employees.
Dude what are you smoking???
This sick policy is way way way more than generous. 5 days out and only 1 point!! 6 points is only a level 2 meaning that you can be absent 6 whole weeks in 12 months, plus if you are senior you get 4 to 6 weeks vacation. Plus your personal days.
That’s 12-13 paid weeks off plus you make double wage on holidays so even if you are sick you will want to work that.
How this is unfair is beyond me. Management doesn’t have a union…. Management can’t even call out sick more than 2 days in a year without the risk of getting fired. Union members have it so good and they still complain.
Please name another business where I can call out sick 6 weeks in a year and not be fired. If someone has a serious condition and is out for 3 weeks they don’t even get any points. Plus if it is serious enough they get FMLA.
And yes I do work for AA and yes I am management.
We get paid double on holidays? I’ve never been paid double.
I’m sure that’s the fault of the gulf carrier that took away american jobs!
Wait…. Aren’t you a lil bit too old to be an FA?
I’ve been here 36 years. Double pay on holidays? I must have missed that memo. I need to contact Payroll and get all my back pay because I’ve never received double time on holidays.
Double pay for working holidays? Hahahahaha! Nice try…how about $75 It is a sad day when people at any age are “worried” about calling in sick because of this asinine policy! Call in sick during a critical period, 2 points, stay out longer than 5 days, another point. It escalated quickly. Doctor’s note, sorry, not accepting those anymore. Thinly disguised, age /gender discriminatory policy.
Management of who, what, where?
Why do you need excused absences when you get fired on your TWELFTH single day out in a year, or after 2-3 MONTHS of multiple days out at a time.
For years we had a sick policy that until you were sick a week- no pay, especially those of us who flew high time like myself since I never received child support. I basically came to work sick no matter what. I couldn’t afford it so off to work I went. I primarily worked first class. A pax once refused everything from me the entire flight I was so sick.
The last sick policy was a sigh of relief. I had enough sick time banked to get paid for 9 months had I chosen. It was so nice to call in sick and not have to work when I was ill.
I only call in sick when I am sick and I primarily fly international destinations. I started the new policy off with 2 points from the old system. I got Influenza B courtesy of flying to Japan.
Last month I got sick while on layover in Houston so had to call in sick for my next international flight. The thought of flying sick for 14 hours is less than appealing. Not only did I not get ‘good points’ I accrued over the 4th of July critical period but was now charged 2 more bad points since it was still the critical week.
It doesn’t take long to accrue points. This job is not easy on the body.
The sick policy makes no allowances for those crew constantly sick from the toxic uniform. A lot of those have been forced to quit.
Generous policy for Corporate America IMHO.
Ours is 5 occurrences or 8 days within 12 rolling month before you go on a remedial plan. If you call off again before a rolling occurrence drops off then bye bye.
What is the vacation policy for FAs? This sick leave is on top of whatever vacation accrual FAs receive so this is extremely generous unlike some companies who lumps everything into PTO.
By the way, my girlfriend is a nurse that works in a major hospital (trauma and ob/gyn). The sick/vacation leave policy is very restrictive and unfortunately is an industry standard. Really puts things into perspective for me especially when reading some commenters trying to explain the dangers of the FA job, the exposure(s) they face, long hours, etc.
Meanwhile, the AA mechanics have 5 total days of sick time in a 12 month calendar year and when you call in, the first day is only half a day of pay.
Do you think it’s fair to receive 2 points due to a broken arm ? That’s what I received despite medical documents faxed biweekly regarding my status@
What harm are those 2 points? Unless you already have 8 points then then they going hurt you at all!
Most people here fly a lot. For all of those complaining about the insensitive big bad company, let me ask you this… Next time you are on the tarmac for 3 hrs because of crew issues then have to deplane and try to get reaccomidatted the next day, are you going to turn to the guy standing in the 200 people Deep line and say ‘gee, I’m glad the airline let’s crew call in for 2 months out of the year before canning them – I didn’t really want to go to my destination tonight anyway’…
The type of problem this policy is meant to avoid is the EXACT problem that 100% of frequent travelers complain non stop about.
Sounds like just the things that industrial actions (LHR this past week). Can you imagine the power of a sick-out over Thanksgiving or X-Mas. Granted most probably don’t care till they are sick or for unavoidable reasons are a few minutes late and are then on chopping block – 2/3 of crew on FLMA over Thanksgiving to demand better uniforms, working conditions.
“Next time you are on the tarmac for 3 hrs because of crew issues then have to deplane and try to get reaccomidatted the next day, are you going to turn to the guy standing in the 200 people Deep line and say ‘gee, I’m glad the airline let’s crew call in for 2 months out of the year before canning them – I didn’t really want to go to my destination tonight anyway’… ”
I’m chuckling because I often think the same when I read that Economy class is getting smaller seats or the retired CEO’s get first class seats for life while regular folks get bumped out of a seat they paid for to make room for them, that I probably wonder if the CEO is giving me maximum value for his massive bonus package.
When my wife started out, she got a job as a waitress in a chain. The manager tried to pressure her and get her to come in outside of her schedule because he was perpetually short staffed. He just didn’t want to have a slightly larger payroll and keep the margins low. She walked and the guy was fuming about it. It’s not her fault that his operations model was broken. (They went out of business about a year later. A new restaurant moved in and has been there for more than a decade.)
The FA’s and heck, even the pilots are a fraction of a percent of the plane’s operating costs. If planes are regularly delayed at massive irregular operating costs due to staffing shortages, then the bean counters (that are paid well) should calculate the “savings” of not having sufficient backup crew on call or on board against those costs.
My point is only peripheral to the AA policy:
Airline crew and passengers are very exposed to respiratory infections. I don’t want to see staff working on planes when it’s clear that they are unwell; unfortunately it’s not uncommon, even though they try to mask it. I don’t want to be served food by someone who has a cold, let alone flu-like symptoms. So sick leave policies should encourage staff with such symptoms to stay away ( …as in other workplaces) without penalty.
Amen
I was just thinking that I’m surprised that with all these airborne illnesses running around, that it’s not a standard in airports in the 1st world to have saunas. When I’m not feeling well, the first thing I do is hit the sauna and burn it out. They’re standard in many homes in Northern Europe. I see gyms and pools in many airport hotels, but rarely saunas and when saunas are available, I see them heavily used.
I have 2 family members both FAs. One for over 30 yrs and second just started.
What I find interesting is, unlike AA which is union represented, the most successful airlines with happiest FAs and other employees are not union.
So, AA and others in same boat. What has union done for you (and your airline) lately?
And for those non-union FAs trying to organize, might want to reconsider.
I am union. I, also, have a Master’s degree in Human Resources Management. I dislike unions, but I hate the need for a union even more. Companies that treat their employees like adults and with respect for their contributions don’t need unions. It’s the ones who want to return to the sweatshop days where the workers are just a part number and management syphons off all the money that need unions.
I work the ramp for the airline in question, if I get sick while at work and had to go home they charge you a 1 point, even if EMS takes you out in the ambulance. Now explain to me how is that fair? Let say you call sick 4 days in 1 week but it was every other day and not consecutive days that’s 4 points, but if it was 4 days in a row then that’s 1 point.
Forget the sick policy, let’s talk about the horrible pay they get.
How many trips are longer than 5 days? If very few, then even if you got sick at the beginning of the trip it’s only one point. Next, what is the minimum usual length of days between trips, 3 days? So even if a FA gets sick in the middle of a trip. There is still enough to recover before the next trip.
Besides being in some “level” classification are there any other consequences? If you end up in a level two does that change or affect you raise, bonus, or anything else? If not, technically a FA could call out once every other month for a scheduled trip without any Consequences besides being a “level two”.
If you want to know the truth, a FA could call off once in Jan, Feb, April, May, July, August, September, October and November ( barring none we taken during critical times) and still have a job. Anyone in the private sector enjoy those privileges?
Steve, with the way we bid for our schedules it is entirely up to us, at our seniority, to plan our schedules. Many long distance commuters work 15 days in a row and then take 15 off. Me, I’m not working more than 9 but a couple of months ago that turned into 13 because of irregular operations. This is not a M-F job.
My wife is a flight attendant at the said airline and the reason IMHO that they had to come with this policy is that there is way to much abuse of the sick leave/FMLA policy going on. There are way too many F/A’s who just abused the former policy and the airline had no option then to come to this policy.
If people who just fly their assignments instead of calling in sick when they get an assignment they don’t want to work then the work load would be a lot different.
Having a sick flight attendant afraid to call in serving food and drinks in confined air space while sneezing and coughing sounds like a great plan to me
Lol!!! Right Nancy!!
Whether the sick leave policy is “fair” is immaterial. This was negotiated by the flight attendant’s union and, I assume, agreed to by its members. The added penalty for calling in sick during peak periods makes sense to me and if you have ever had a flight delayed or canceled because a pilot or flight attendant called in sick, you probably agree. Bottom line: if you don’t like the policy speak to your union, not the press.
Not negotiated, implemented by the company
Flight attendant here… I am SO sad that this only shows part of the story. Here is the key: DOCTORS NOTES ARE NOT ACCEPTED. In every other job I’ve ever had, even in school, I never missed a single day. That’s because I was not often sick. When I became a flight attendant, I started becoming sick ALL the time. And unlike other jobs, I can’t suck it up for the day and come home to make myself a nice meal and get some rest in my own bed. I’m usually out for 3-4 days. And on Reserve the company calls me at literally any time of day or night to report to work, so I do not get proper rest to recover. In the past year, I’ve had to call out for bronchitis, the flu, e-coli, a sinus infection (just to name a few) WITH a doctors note but got in most cases two points because let’s be honest, we usually get sick not in the middle of summer but during that Christmas critical period. I and others get SO stressed about this point system that we go to work sick! Do you want your flight attendants going to work sick and handling your food and drinks?? I don’t think so. The “50 days” mentioned in the article is measleading. Yes our trips are usually multi-day, but we are only allowed to call out 10 times total, or 5 in a critical period. Many of us are close to termination simply for being sick. I love that this story is covered but I would love to see it edited to show more of the truth! Being a flight attendant is nothing like a regular job, it cannot be treated as such
Amen girl. Amen. I got so violently sick at O’Hare. They had to shut KCM down to clean up the mess. I was told I needed to “grow up” and that I was getting “2 points”—regardless that I was rushed to the hospital. I was told “Well, you should have FMLA. You could have called out before the sequence”. Ummm, this was the last day of my trip. The last turn. I was fine up until then. I still don’t know what I came into contact with or how many other myself and the other FA (both of us got violently ill) infected that day…because god forbid you had to use a reserve for a turn. I called at 4:30 am. The lack of staffing is not my prob. After that I refuse to do ANY favors for anyone. You need me to extend? Nah….Not til my doctors note serves as an official point drop. I love my job, but they aren’t going to keep people around with this nonsense. Labor laws should be looked at for sure.
I was working with a girl who got food poisoning from the hotel. She tried to suck it up. The captain wouldn’t let her fly. She got 2 points.
This article also doesn’t talk about how many fa’s are sick because of the uniforms we wear. Or that lawsuit.
It also doesn’t discuss how as a flight attendant we are required to be at the airport in uniform an hour before being paid. In this hour we have to check emergency equipment, catering, board an airplane. Or how you could be on company time for 13hr and only get paid for 5 . What people don’t realize is that flight attendants can be at work for 3 days, be on company time(on duty) for 12hrs each of those days and only get paid for 15hrs. Or when the flight is delayed or canceled they don’t get paid. How many industries are required to be at work, every time they work, and not get paid for their time?
I’m not complaining about the job, I love it. But what I’m saying is that this industry is like no other. Clearly the policy seems great to many of you who get weekends, holidays, and evenings off. But not to the state of New York or else there wouldn’t be a lawsuit.
Also, I don’t walk into your office wearing my pajamas and throwing up. So please don’t show up like that at mine happy flying!
@K. You mentioned not getting paid if flights are delayed. That’s nonsense. Here’s a scenario that I have experience MANY times: passengers have all boarded, doors close, and plane pulls out of the gate…200 feet and just waits and waits and waits. Captain announces, “Sorry folks but we are being delayed by the tower; we should get going momentarily.” One hour passes and still no movement. You’re telling us that you’re not getting paid? BULLSHIT! The captain knew the flight was going to be delayed but advised the FAs and the gate agents to have everyone board and close the doors so that everyone is making money, while the passengers suffer. Way To Go!!!
Hey bob, of the 5 years I’ve worked for an airline, this only happened to me ONCE. I’m sorry that you were unfortunate to experience this several times. But, I don’t know why you’re blaming crew for this scenario, because we’re not the tower. We have no control over what the tower wants. I agree with you that the airline industry is flat out EFFED. UP. at times, but from experience, we as crew also are not treated as human beings. We are just another number to get a flight out. I’ve written countless emails supporting both crew and passengers in regards to being treated as human. Every new plane they make, is configured to make “more money” AKA less space, more seats. I have a hard time working on the new configured 737 because of how little the isle is, and I’m a size XS. I constantly get elbows in my ribs and knees ramming my shins. Seriously?! Flight attendants don’t have designated food brakes. Last month I worked a flight and haven’t ate for 12 HOURS because I was on the same plane with zero running water (yeah, no sink water, no coffee, hot water, nothing) and no “left overs” for 3 flights straight (yeah, I said leftovers, because when we can’t get off the plane, we rely on customers to refuse onboard food so we can consume their LEFTOVERS). Finally after the 2nd flight, after almost passing out did I take initiative to walk off the plane to grab SOMETHING no matter what the company wanted (a quick turn, because who cares about human health). We’re all robots to them. We wear toxic uniforms that have caused over 5,000 flight attendants and pilots to develop major health issues including asthma, migraines, rashes, cysts, eye and sinus infections, and the list goes on. Many of us have been wearing “alternate” uniforms, but many others who haven’t had a reaction yet still continue to wear it because it doesn’t “bother them”, when in reality, because of their choice and AA choosing not to RECALL these toxic uniforms, those who have proximity issues suffer, even when all we want to do is work. We WANT TO WORK. But it’s hard, when you feel like death every time you’re in an airplane with recycling poison oxygen. Another thing is time. Our time is just as valuable as yours, and the FA who created this comment is correct. We check in at the airport, get to our gate/plane, go in to check emergency equipment and crew brief. We sweat uncontrollably in this summer heat during boarding, helping 150+ passengers with bags, seats, any random requests, perform emergency demo, bring out pre-departures for premium classes, take orders, hang jackets, organize our equipment for inflight services, sign in unaccompanied minors and brief them to their seats, hand out extenders for those who need it, headphones, brief the exit rows, cater to the pilots with pre-departure needs before we shut their door, ALL FOR FREE. We do ALL of THIS for FREE. Until the aircraft door is SHUT, we do NOT get paid. When the door opens again for deplaning, pay stops. Sure in the scenario that you mentioned, the door was closed and the time was already beginning to run for the crew. So what?! What if the door was OPEN? You wanted to get off the plane? Then all you had to do was ask the flight attendant and they would have been more than happy to escort you off. They can’t refuse that request. If I had to wait that long I’d be just as mad!!! I’m not just FREE all day every day. I want to get to wherever the destination is to be normal again. I take online classes, so any layover time is extremely valuable to me. 1-2 hr delay?! I’m pissed too. Trust me. It takes a lot of patience and acceptance to work this job, and Not Rey many people have patience these days. I work 12+ hour days every day, and guess how much I get paid for that day? 5hours. I am paid 5 hours for physically working and being active at the airport and on the aircraft for 12+ hours. When I work a 3 day trip, and while we are actively putting in 12+ hrs PER day, do you know how much we get paid? 15hrs worth of our time. Many times we are told that on average we “ONLY” work 80 hrs a month. No. We are getting PAID for 80 hours. We actually are actively WORKING double or more, and because we only get paid “door closure” time. We get 80. Are you getting this??
You know how airlines have airport standby (FAs who wait at the airport to cover others last minute)? If they End up not calling the flight attendant for the 6 hours they were at the airport (to cover for any last minute no-shows), they get 5hrs of pay. What happened to the last hour of my time? Doesn’t matter, they want to pay for just 5, so that’s how it’s gonna be. If you DO get called on airport standby well guess what, you’re covering for another FAs shift (going on a trip), and will only get paid for HALF the time you were waiting at the airport. Sooooo…. if I was sitting at the airport for 6 hours and get called to work two or more flights after that, they’re going to cut my 6hrs of time to paying for 3hrs. Why? Because they can and that’s the rules. Please talk about SUFFERING once you have experienced our job for sakes. It’s easy to just in a plane and observe/judge, but there is more to it behind the scenes. I enjoy my job because I get to meet so many people, and I occasionally get to see my immediate family who live 13 hours from the US. But like any other job, there are always things happening behind the scenes that not many are aware of. I get that you’re frustrated with air travel, and we are trained to keep a smile on our faces during work, but maybe crew is also suffering inside.
I’m an FA for this company based out of LAX for the last 3 years and this isn’t true.
You’re not seeing the bigger picture. If you called out sick on a day, that means the rest of the (potentially multi-day) trip rotation is cancelled… unless you get back to proactively reschedule the roster for the remaining days of the month. It’s just not a single sick day at random.
Flight attendants are notorious for calling in sick when they are not. I flew for many decades. There was a running joke about why you were calling In sick. E.g. party, holiday, etc.
Want to know the time when most flight attendant’s called in sick?
Haloween.
I think it is pretty generous. I get 8 sick days per year, according to this I would have no problem cruising through any 12 month period with not more than a warning… you want socialism come to Russia
This is lenient. Many other airlines are MUCH more strict with their points policy and assign points for other things as well. They have nothing to complain about compared to others.
FA’s should put there first and last last names since they are proud of there job…and and continue the job.if they dont dont like it it anymore moving companies are still hiring..but w no sick days…
Flight attendants have this policy because of systematic abuse of sick leave.
The reasons pilots do not have the same sick leave policy is because their sick call in rate doesn’t even come close to that of flight attendants, and the pilots has an equally if not more sickness sensitive role.
Unfortunately a few have ruined it for the majority, and if collectively a work force abuses a system then any employer will be forced to respond to the workforce.
Flight attendants need some accountability in their own ranks first, because you are making it harder for your fellow employees who are genuinely sick. Once you hold your colleagues accountable, then you will be able to work on removing the point system.
@Matthew
Well said. It’s always the few that ruin it for everyone. And, some have mentioned that the mostly FEMALE FA staff is being discriminated because the mostly MALE pilot staff don’t have this sick policy. Well, take a look at who is abusing the sick policy: is the male pilots or female FAs?
Get real. I retired from an airline after over 30 years of service. These guidelines give at least twice as many days as ours and three time as much sick pay. Our company was consistently related a top employer by the employees and outside reviews. We also had some penalties around holidays etc.
AA employees must be concerned about Asian and European airlines that consistently rate higher not pety concerns that often are overheard by passengers on board .
Here’s an example of this policy at work. Suppose I fly a trip that comes in on Christmas Eve, yeah, I get a bonus point for working during the holiday period. But, oops, during the night I get sick from something someone on the plane had, and have to call off for my Christmas Day trip, because I’m really junior and was scheduled to work every holiday. There goes my bonus point and not only that but I get TWO points now because I called in sick over a holiday. Even better, suppose it was a really bad flu and I’m still sick at New Year’s and have to call off again, another point because it’s past 5 days, and an extra one because it’s over the holiday. So, for having the flu over the holidays I get 4 points, and lose the bonus point I earned by working Christmas Eve. The real kicker is that if I had worked both trips over the two holidays I wouldn’t have gotten anything more than the one bonus point because you can only earn one per holiday period!