Yesterday, American Airlines announced plans to improve service in economy on some flights. Specifically, the airline will be restoring a second drink service in economy on domestic flights of over 1,500 miles, and will be restoring a pre-dinner drink service in economy on long haul international flights departing before 9:01PM.
Continue reading: American Flight Attendants Angry About Service Increases: Justified?
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
They just got a new contract. Surely if they were so concerned about widebody staffing, that could have been addressed in the contract? (Understand that it was likely tabled in exchange for something else, it my point is, they got a new contract and it was ratified. Why the complaints now?)
AA and UA - along w/ other defunction carriers - have a long history of toxic labor relations that allowed other carriers to thrive because of customer service.
We may well be entering another era of the same thing the industry saw for decades.
Agreed @Ben, this seems like a complaint mostly without substance. Though for the 773s that lost two FAs, did they lose them from economy or business? Or one each? I could see it being more difficult to handle the extra international beverage service while simultaneously prepping the meals if they're down 1-2 people.
Tim, do you have any idea why any person with a brain cell holding their ears apart, would ever spend their own money on an AA ticket?
I’m a gay male frequent flier out of DFW. This means I have to hear AA FAs bitch and moan when I’m working, then I go out to the gay bars and I have to hear AA FAs bitch and moan when I’m out trying to have fun. You will never encounter a more miserable group of people with a delusional sense of entitlement.
Hub captive. Best loyalty program of the three (this is a points/miles blog after all). Not caring about 6” TVs. Being physically capable of bringing a hydro flask on board and eating a meal before the flight. I could go on…
Anyone that has taken an AA flight on a transcon or midcon knows what happens after the first beverage/snack service...the FAs sit in the back galley doing absolutely nothing productive for the rest of the flight. That's not being snarky or putting down the work FAs do, it's just what actually happens today. So being up in arms over having to do work for which they are being PAID to do, is not going to win any sympathy votes. It's just ridiculous.
Management should try to enforce consistent services levels before adding more. FA flight from ATL to DFW was the best I ever experienced and on par with Asian carriers; the next leg was horrendous - the complete opposite of the first leg. Ya just gotta laugh.
Oh no! Flight attendants might have less time to play on their phones while ignoring the passengers!
... and willing to accept being treated well below how you would be treated on other airlines.
Problem is that AA and DL get about half of their revenue from non-hub cities - which means that they have to win over customers in competitive markets like RDU, PIT, JAX etc.
AA undercuts its competitors in these types of markets and pushes them on low connecting time connections via CLT and DFW where there is a high chance things will go wrong.
THAT is a big reason why AA cannot survive with its current strategy as long as other airlines are able to aggressively compete in competitive markets for AA passengers.
Come on guys, that candy isn’t going to crush itself. These FAs have got to get back to the galley ASAP!
It's the union's job to complain about the service increases. If I were a FA paying dues to a union that is ostensibly my advocate, I would want them to be pushing back in any way possible. I'd want them to push back even for the most trifling change such as asking me to switch to Cucumber scented deodorant instead of the Unscented variety that I currently use. The union is my advocate and the union is doing its job.
That said, this headline is way too long. It should have been left at American Flight Attendants Angry and that would be an evergreen accurate description of the the demeanor of the bottom decile of AA flight attendants who need to be immediately terminated for cause with no eligibility for government sponsored unemployment benefits. If I'm in even the top 90% of flight attendants I would be upset that my union is protecting these bottom 10% which are the proverbial rotten apple spoiling the entire bunch.
Vigorous performance management is necessary for any corporation to continue to deliver good, or even half-good, service.
The moment a flight attendant speaks in a disrespectful manner to any customer, one strike should be recorded. All flight attendants should get a two strikes and you're out rule. And a ConciergeKey member's complaint counts as two strikes.
If drink orders could be placed on your phone or seatback entertainment, it would make multiple drinks easier. Same with charging for premium drinks, that could be paid for on your phone instead of FA's having to walk around and remember who had a premium drink and then collect payment.
AA isn't using technology to their Aadvantage.
I could order drinks on my seatback screen years ago when Virgin America was flying domestic flights from NYC-Vegas in economy. Why not now in 2025?
They need to bring back pre-pandemic staffing. Period.
The staffing on their international widebody fleet is appalling...1 FA for 8 First Class pax on the 77W?!
Yes because the flight attendant duties according to the union are:
1. Throw shade at all passengers
2. No pre departure beverages for the select number of flyers that are actually profitable
3. Do one quick service run (maybe) but not on flights of less than one hour flying time. Wouldn't want to have to hurry
4. If there is the least mild bump in the air sit in your jump seat and make a PA to passengers that you can't get up due to safety issues. But by all means if YOU'RE THIRSTY break out the catering for something to drink
5. After the occasionally drink service and trash service spend the remainder of your flight in the jump seat either playing with your phone or debating which male flight attendants are gay or straight.
Rinse and repeat. And complain about your pay.
The issue is not that it can’t be done, it’s that Management was disingenuous and cut labour costs at the expense of the union members. Think about more FA’s per flight would almost certainly meant that fewer mid rank FA’s stuck around as they went from holding a line to being on reserve, this causes average seniority to decrease due to the pay structure which has further reduced costs. This is all being done on the backs of the FA’s and not Management. Of course The union isn’t happy as it means less Union fees from members
Such a cynical take! Those crew may be in the galley, but they remain in a state of cat-like readiness, scanning for terrorists and guaranteeing 100% safety at all times.
Except that contract was ratified based on certain commitments by management for physical labour. Had the airline disclosed the change in service levels they could have negotiated the effort.
Don’t get me wrong I think AA is a totally different airline than before America Worst bought UScareways and AA. It has gone from being a premium airline with initiatives like MRTC to the level of Spirit/Frontier. I have 1MM status on AA but simply won’t fly them anymore as it’s not worth the aggravation
Here’s the scenario we are unhappy about: international widebody staffing is so low that in most cases there is no longer a dedicated galley flight attendant. That means that the galley FA is also working a cart and does not have time to set up the next service element before it’s slated to start.
787 (all variants) and 772 will have super slow service - especially in coach - if AA expects us to wear 3 hats and juggle every service element successfully. It’s like asking the chef to wait tables, bus dishes, and cook dinner, and then wondering why your food is cold.
77W is down 2 FA’s, so the same example will ring true in all 3 cabins.
We are mad about the fact that AA lied in the arbitration, and we are mad that they think we seem stupid enough not to notice.
So less reading and chatting for them and more actual work serving customers. What is the world coming to?
It won't do any good. They'll be just as lazy. They're getting more money, they can do a bit more than the bare minimum for it. If they can't handle it, they can work elsewhere.
The fact that management allowed extortionate behviour in the past is not a good argument.
When at work, one works.
In a physical job one gets some time to actually recover (5 mins per hour) but not to do personal things.
Oh stop it. We both know that's not true. Why are they able to do the first service then if twinkle is constantly in a state of cat-like readiness to thwart the next big global security incident?
I think I know a way you'd be able to make then stay quite.....at least temporarily.
Coming back from London, we were in "premium economy" LHW-LAX. It was ok but, we wanted vodka tonics with the lunch service before landing in LAX. We were told "No, she's already locked up the liquor drawers". AA has just about the worst inflight service of any airline, anywhere.
I always love when flight attendants balk at having to multitask ... welcome to the real world !! The reality is, ya'll are not engineers, or pilots. You don't have a rare skillset, knowledge, or abilities that aren't easily replaceable. While every career has value (including being FA), and I sincerely appreciate many flight attendants, in the last decade - Unions have created this FA mindset that doesn't match economic reality. Articles like this make your customers run away from AA, not too it. Enable your companies success, even if that means you have to spend 30 more minutes doing a 2nd beverage service.
As an ex-FA for Delta, I *understand* your complaint, but have very little sympathy. Every FA should know how to stock (or restock) their beverage cart, and it should be done right after the previous service...then it's ready to go. I understand how crappy minimum staffing is, but I also understand stepping up and making do with what you have.
I remember being on an Aeroflot long-haul once where they had TWO fas to do the meal service - including drinks - for the entire economy cabin. Took an hour and a half.
Let's be honest. On domestic flights they'll claim turbulence or some reason related to safety and never ever, ever do a second service anyway.
With no additional catering on board, they might actually have to open and pour sodas (like nearly every other airline) versus handing an unopened can and a cup at each passenger.
On widebody, of certain duration, I can see a small level of their concern. But I know several AA F/A who all fly international nearly exclusively (1990s dates of hire with US Airways) and their crews/Pursers usually work assignments such that there is a galley F/A. They figure it out.
It also is not the job of the union to dictate company marketing/service. As long as the crew have sufficient safe time to be out of jumpseats and receive required inflight rest periods while completing safety related duties then I don't see how they should think they have a say in the matter. If it doesn't get done because there isn't staffing to do it, it doesn't get done.
Maybe these flight attendants can tell me how the flight attendants of 30 years ago were able to do a beverage and meal service with two flight attendants in coach on a MD80 ORD/LGA flight-about 90 minutes flying time. Maybe because they didn't expect to be spending any time in the jumpseat save for takeoff and landing.
On a recent flight from PHX to RDU the drink service didn't start until 1 hr 15 m into the flight. It took maybe 45 m.
The flight attendants basically spent, in total, 2 hrs sitting in the galley.
I remember clearly those days flying AA MD80s SFO-DFW. DCA-ORD with a HOT meal service (in coach) and 2 bev runs.
Let’s see. No interest in providing service. Wondering why profit sharing isn’t like Delta? Americas best and brightest aren’t working at AA.
FA's all got good raises. Now you're asking them to actually do more work for hours they're being paid for. If you're being assigned a bunch of tasks that are hard or impossible to complete it's understandable. When you're sitting/standing around bsing most of the flight it's hard to claim you don't have the time do it.
Of course, when you're allowed to do the bare minimum for a long time it's hard to convince those same workers to go back to actually working. Covid times kind of convinced everyone they're all underpaid and overworked even when it didn't apply to them. "Minimum staffing" is just being used as a buzz word to sound bad. You could increase minimums by 50% and people would still refer to it as minimum and be upset about it.
We'll only agree to do a 2nd beverage service if we get a corresponding increase in our browsing-our-phones-in-the-galley time. Otherwise this is outrageous.
Like the inmates taking over the asylum. How dare these FAs be made to work? Geez! There're not there to be chatting socially. They should try being a paying passenger and experience the lack of service. We as passengers have reason for frustration when airlines and hotels change loyalty programs when one has been loyal to them.
Ben, you may be mixing the two issues here.
One, there is no problem with probating a second beverage service with minimum crew on domestic, short international flights .
The problem is that not enough supplies are provided for a second beverage service , and it is expected to be accomplish with the left overs from the first service .
The fact that there are not enough food for sale for customers is management decision. Not the flight attendants .
Problem number two. There. Used to be 14 flight attendants on long haul premium flights .
Now down to eleven. Management is forcing the galley position to work the galley and the aisle in all cabins . This obviously drags on he amount of time needed to complete the service , and the flight attendants keep tuning back and forth to the galleys and customers are block from taking the lavatories for a prolonged time as a result. Also, the amount of time for the trays to be picked up after the service increased .
Customers in premium cabins have long waits for drink refills , and coach , forget it.
I think the main issue here is the idea that you can't have a drink until crew does "a round". This is the problem with American airlines (as in all US airlines, not just the one called American) service concept where pressing the crew call button gives you a one-way ticket to El Salvador or whatever. The way it works in most of the world is that if you need something, you press that button, someone will come and you'll get whatever drink you want delivered - anytime you want it. That's the reasonable service standard - you get what you want whenever you want it, not being dependant on how many rounds of drinks crew does when they feel like it. It works perfectly well on almost the entire planet, no idea why North American airlines act like it's beyond their capabilities.
This seems like a uniquely USA thing. I've asked for a drink many times outside of the drink services and rarely had an issue.
How much Coddling does 1 person need...you need 2 FA's to hold your bib and spoon feed you while in first class?
The union has ZERO credibility, but AA's flights are severely understaffed. Just walk into any European or Asian airline and the difference is stark.
Its workers are probably overpaid (besides many underperforming their duties) and AA owns both problems.
Your typical Asian carrier serves a HOT meal service in Economy on a 2 hour flight (1:40 in the air) TODAY, with two beverage runs.
The way America has fallen behind Asia/China (and how it does not want to fight by improving things but by preventing Americans from having nice things) is very scary.
The FAs are not complaining about not doing a second beverage service . They are complaining about having to do it with same provisions. Nothing extra is being loaded for second service
Long haul, they are understaffed . The galleys have to work the aisle , and can’t have the following element ready in timely manner . That also means , longer waits for refills , and earlier wake up for breakfast service , since it takes longer to finish .
It’s not about domestic beverage though, however that is lumped in with the overall complaint. On international departures we are trying to feed 300 people dinner AND maximize their sleep. How can I make sure dinner carts are ready if I’m stuck delivering a beverage service first? As a Delta stew, you know that it’s a complex feat to accomplish. Pax want their dinner and they want it NOW. Hard to make that happen without a dedicated galley stew.
Yupp, STL-DFW I flew often in that era. Full dinner service with a flying time of 1 hr 15 minutes.
A quick tale of a recent trip - outbound was PHX-RDU on AA, return was UA RDU-IAH-PSP. Both were in F.
The PHX-RDU on AA was amazing thanks to an incredible FAS in First. This was a standard A321 - full cabin. She was above and beyond.
UA - RDU-IAH actually had a hot meal - rather surprised. Food was OK, crew was pleasant and accommodating.
IAH-PSP had another hot meal - FA was good but did nothing beyond what was required.
So in the end, AA won this one. Rare I know.
After a 3 hour delay and now 30 minutes in flight, after 10PM not even the beverage service in first let alone the meal. Of course no pre departure service. Guess these two are too busy on their phone.
Meanwhile on a not-long-ago Piedmont E145 flight from TRI to CLT with an announced flight time of 26 minutes, the sole F/A managed to do a full beverage service (not just water) to the nearly full 50-seater. Then again, she set expectations before take-off, and had the galley organized, and was on the move every possible moment.
Two weeks ago on CLT-ORF, the F/A across from me in the A321 exit row put bright red air pods in her ears when she sat down for take-off and had two cell phones out on her lap. The one with the AA case wasn't the one she was using. Took out her air pods when the 10k chime went off and she disappeared until the gear came down, sat down, put air pods back in until we got to the gate and seatbelt sign came off. Of course there was no service at all nor a F/A to be seen. I still wonder if I should send AA the photo I have of all this clearly shown....
For domestic flights especially narrowbody flights, there is zero excuse in not providing a second beverage service. It is ridiculous to only serve one full beverage, as of now.
However, their international flights need to go back to their original staffing. Sorry AA... you can't have it both ways. American is the worst US full service airline and there is no doubt about it. Go back to the original staffing and then you need to bring back the services pre-Covid.
AA is not going to survive the incoming economic crisis.
One of my best flights was a Qantas Link flight Brisbane to Bundaberg, a quick 45 minute flight on a dash 8 Q400.
The staff did 2 drink runs and a snack service of cheese, crackers and olives.
This is consistent across all Qantas domestic flights.
It baffles me how the great USA can't or don't want to server their customers on domestic flights, why is it so hard?
How much do AA FAs sit and do nothing while airborne on an average flight?
50%? 60%?
On long haul flights... 75% of the time?
This is about laaziness.
One thing being overlooked is the passenger to bathroom ratio! The more drinks passengers consume, the longer the wait for the bathroom. On some aircraft, there are only 2 bathrooms for over 100 people. We all know most galleys are in the back near the restrooms. Have you ever experienced the flight attendants trying to get the cart out of the galley with a line of people for the bathroom? There’s no room to “step aside”!
Why would anyone consider flying AA or any US airline internationally?
As for National travel protected from foreign competition, the difference between a full fare and low cost carrier is so insignificant that I can’t justify paying more for the abuse.
I have lived all over the world (except S. America), flown on 40+ different airlines, and with the exception of Azerbaijan Airways in the 90s none have consistently provided as poor a service as US airlines in totality!
Consider this. Emirates serves a pre meal drinks and hot meal in economy on a 90 minute flight and if you want a few drinks after your meal, that too.
@Mary, would that change between domestic or international? I haven't flown any of the SEA carriers, but my experience on domestic ANA flights in econ was no meal, on FUK-HND and NGS-HND. From Ben's recent reviews going to/from CTS, he got meals in F/J from Korean and ANA, but not JAL. His JAL domestic J flight (which has apparently identical service as economy) only served drinks and soup.
A nicer quality snack would be nice, but I really don't expect or need a meal (nor do I expect a GOOD meal) on such a short flight. I just don't think that's worth the extra expense.
I’m generally supportive of unions, workers, and flight attendants, but my god. Get off your asses once in a while.
The worst flight I have been on is AA MIA-SEA, cramped 321 poor service even in First class for a flight that is longer than many international flights (over seven hours westbound). The problem with not having a second drink service on this flight is it seems cheap and its not competitive with Delta and Alaska that do multiple drink services on this route and are proactive with water and even coffee during the flight. For this length of flight it is not hard to have another service, it actually makes no sense not to have one as it makes passengers uncomfortable going that long without service.
I've flown AA enough and had a medical issue that had my seatmate and those across the aisle pushing the call button and waving at the F/A a few rows in front and they did nothing but walk by without making eye contact. What makes you think that the response to a call bell will be: a.) a flight attendant doing anything further than making an announcement reminding everyone where the reading light button is and "whoever pushed the call bell in error push it again to turn it off" or b.) if they do come to the seat saying anything other than "we're about to serve drinks from the cart"
Why do you keep bashing the flight attendants . They do not design the service that is provided. Nor how much supplies they get . Just ring your call light or visit the galleys. Make sure you have your credit card handy. 10 usd per mini. Because that seems to be your major concern.
The fares in Australia are much higher than in the US. Many Australian connecting from Qantas in lax and continuing their trip into another US city like Miami get confused , but it is cultural. A flight from LAX to MIA can be purchased in average from 100 to 200 usd for a flight that is above 2000 miles long. Meals and snacks are available for a fee .
Oh give me a break. Just do what they're supposed to do, and that's to serve. Theses cabin crew wouldn't survive on non American carriers.
We can fly from Melbourne to Perth for US$249/A$389 it's 2700km and receive the same service as an international flight. 30kg baggage, drinks, snacks, full meal, setback entertainment, wine, beer etc
I'm just trying to say that it's not that hard to provide a good level of service on shorter flights, Bangkok Airways - Samui to Bangkok = full meal and drinks 45- 50 minute flight!
That's not the point, samui to Bangkok is 45 minutes.... full meal and two drink runs.
It can be done,
Here is the real problem, internationally, loyal customers are moving to other carriers, not American. The primary reason, in my case, after millions of miles with American, are Service and food. Since this is about service, I highly suggest that you one day check out the competition. Dine on demand would be something the UNION would choke on, but that is standard at other airlines, and it is glorious in Business class. Long haul Business flights on American seem to be dominated by the most senior FA, and this does not always translate to best service. Many use these long haul flights with their seniority priority, not to showcase their experience and talents, but to keep their benefits alive with the most minimal amount of flights and effort, and it shows. I have gone hungry on American business class because the meals were so shitty. On international airlines the food and service are amazing, and it's always with a pleasant smile, and courteous treatment. It is not comparable. I take longer transit times to avoid American internationally because of these reasons, it is that significant; the Union needs to understand you are not competing with AMERICAN you are competing with other airlines that do what you dont care to do and 3 times more; Later you have layoffs and the complaints begin when you dug your own grave. Trust me, the competition is aggressive and they are winning business away. Doing the least will put you in the street. Who the hell ever says im moving over to American? The exodus is the trend.