It’s not unusual for airlines to come up with volunteer opportunities for employees. Typically these opportunities are for helping the community, while in this case the opportunities are for helping… Sky Club guests? Here’s an interesting ask from an airline, as flagged by @xJonNYC.
Delta is short of contractors, needs Sky Club volunteers
Delta Air Lines is allegedly currently short around 115 contractors at its Atlanta Sky Clubs. The airline is now asking all employees in the area (including pilots, flight attendants, gate agents, and more) to volunteer to wipe down tables, run food, and more.
Employees are asked to bring “business casual” wear (which is defined as black slacks and a white shirt), and the airline will generous provide aprons. 😉
Here’s the memo to employees:
We Need Volunteers for our ATL Sky Club Experience!!!
We are severely understaffed in the ATL Sky Club due to lack of contractor support (i.e. we are currently short 115 people) which puts our Sky Clubs at risk from a customer satisfaction standpoint.
We are asking for any Delta employee in the ATL area who can help support. Just come to the ATL airport for a few hours to help with cleaning, wiping tables, running food, restocking food buffets, etc. You can wear business casual wear (black slacks and a white shirt) and we will provide aprons. You will be able to pick up gate passes to get past the airport security to get to the ATL Sky Lounge.
There are needs at all times; however there is a limit to three days per person each month. Ideally, we’d be working each week to fill volunteer slots for the following week.
Fair, ridiculous, comical, or all of the above?
It’s hard to know what exactly to make of this, though the thought of Delta pilots running around Sky Clubs in aprons wiping down tables and restocking food puts a smile on my face.
A few things to note:
- This is marketed as a “volunteer” opportunity, though it’s not entirely clear if this is paid or not; if it is paid, I’d guess an A350 captain wouldn’t be paid the same $354 per hour they’d get if they were flying 😉
- This is not being pushed aggressively, though it is still unusual to see an airline essentially ask employees to volunteer in place of contractors
- More than at American and United, Delta employees are definitely invested in the success of the company, and historically the airline has offered generous profit sharing; that being said, there’s an irony to Delta outsourcing jobs in Sky Clubs, and then asking employees to volunteer in their place when that proves not very reliable
- Delta used to be known for operational excellence, though the airline also seems to be having the most staffing issues lately; Delta has been having huge staffing issues with pilots on three consecutive major holidays, the airline has had extremely long phone hold times, and now the airline is having Sky Club staffing issues
Bottom line
Delta is short of contractors in its Atlanta Sky Clubs, and the airline is now asking other employees to step up and volunteer to clean tables and restock food.
I’m not sure what exactly to make of this. I’d be curious how many Delta employees volunteer, and if this is a paid opportunity or not. Delta hired contractors in its lounges to save money, and when that proves unreliable, the airline is asking employees to step up.
What do you make of all of this?
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