As reported by @xJonNYC, American Airlines is accusing some of its flight attendants of trying to profit off of rolling delays, and is calling it theft. I’m sure this will ruffle some feathers among flight attendants, especially given the tense contract negotiations going on.
In this post:
How American flight attendants are profiting off of delayed flights
Flight attendants have a complex system through which they can bid on trips, based on a variety of factors, and that determines their schedules. In addition to their standard monthly bidding, flight attendants can pick up trips at the last minute for extra pay, assuming it doesn’t interfere with any trips they already have on their schedule. They always need a minimum amount of rest between sequences, typically at least 10 hours.
American is accusing flight attendants of intentionally picking up trips that they have no intention of flying, in order to get more pay, and the company is calling it theft. According to American:
- Flight attendants are bidding at the last minute to work flights that have rolling delays, whereby the flight attendants already know that a flight is delayed; it’s common for there to be last minute trips available, since it could be that a crew timed out when there’s a major delay
- Flight attendants are intentionally bidding on these flights when they have another trip in their schedule in the near future, so that they’d barely have enough rest (but based on the scheduled departure time as of the time they bid on the trip, they do have enough rest)
- In situations where the delay continues to be extended, flight attendants then can’t work their next trip, but they still get paid for it, since the contract contains a pay protection for that
Just to give an example (I’m totally making this up), let’s say that a flight attendant is scheduled to work a trip starting at 6AM tomorrow, from Miami to Los Angeles. Flight attendants need at least 10 hours of rest between flights. So let’s say a flight attendant picks up a quick Miami to Tampa to Miami turn at the last minute for this evening, but it’s clear that the flight will be delayed (since the inbound aircraft is hours late, or there’s a maintenance issue, or there’s a thunderstorm).
If they picked up that trip and flew it but returned after 8PM (10 hours before 6AM), they wouldn’t be able to fly the trip the following day, but they’d still get paid for both trips.
American threatens flight attendants for this behavior
American states that crew scheduling seniors are now examining each and every last minute trip pick up that has resulted in pay protection, to determine whether flight attendants intentionally manufactured an “illegal” sequence in order to get pay for the trip.
The company will examine when the trip was picked up by the flight attendant, when the delay began, and what the crew knew and when. The company’s position is that just because the delay hasn’t been updated, doesn’t mean the crew was unaware of the inevitable. The company considers this to be theft, and is threatening to take away pay, call flight attendants into their manager’s office, and potentially take other disciplinary action.
The company is encouraging flight attendants to only pick up trips that they’re confident that they can legally fly, and flight attendants will have to justify their decision with “factual data” if they get pay protection.
This is quite a threat against flight attendants…
Many of us passengers can attest to how frustrating American’s rolling flight delays are, and what a bad job the airline typically does with keeping people updated with delays. So in some way, I have to respect the hustle of some flight attendants for taking advantage of American’s poor communication during delays.
Now, I can’t help but think that this is more of an empty threat than anything else, though I certainly could be wrong:
- Is this really such a widespread problem that it’s worth addressing in this way? Is this happening among tens of people, or hundreds of people, or…?
- It seems kind of challenging for American to prove intent here
- If this is such a big problem, why doesn’t American update its software to not let flight attendants bid on these kinds of trips? It seems like American should be deciding how realistic it is for a flight attendant to bid on a trip without missing their next trip, rather than leaving it to the individual flight attendant
- Flight attendant morale at American is at an all-time low, as flight attendants are still waiting on a new contract (which they deserve); is the airline trying to make labor relations even worse?
I suspect this is primarily about trying to make flight attendants scared about this behavior going forward, but I guess we’ll see. If the company does take disciplinary action against flight attendants, I imagine the union will have a lot to say.
Bottom line
American is accusing some flight attendants of theft, after bidding on last minute trips with rolling delays. The airline claims that some flight attendants have intentionally picked up last minute trips shortly before other trips, in situations where they knew the flight would be delayed. This triggered pay protection, meaning flight attendants would be paid for both trips.
What do you make of American’s threat to flight attendants?
Not accurate..as a crew member we can not just " pick up" a trip knowing it'll be delayed. How could we possibly know a thunder storm is rolling through in Dallas..days before. That is when our system allows us to pick up..days before. Unless a trip picked up by another f/a.. that's their choice. I wish I had a crystal ball to know what trips are delayed before hand. I certainly wouldn't be picking them...
Not accurate..as a crew member we can not just " pick up" a trip knowing it'll be delayed. How could we possibly know a thunder storm is rolling through in Dallas..days before. That is when our system allows us to pick up..days before. Unless a trip picked up by another f/a.. that's their choice. I wish I had a crystal ball to know what trips are delayed before hand. I certainly wouldn't be picking them up! Sitting on a plane with no pay until pushback with a delayed flight? Most avoid at all cost .
American management is to blame here. I worked for them as a F/A for 43 year's and retired in 2015. They were wonderful to work for for many years, but now they treat their employees terribly. Good for you, F/A’s.♥️
How about that? AAs own practices are coming back to bite them in the arse. Maybe they ought to be more transparent and efficient with communicating delays (to customers AND crews) instead of always trying to skirt the fact that NO plane can be in 2 airports at the same time. Sounds like they are just hacked off that their staff is taking advantage of the system THEY created. Pay them what they deserve and I bet this problem would just go away on its own...
It sounds like American didn’t think about this when they were negotiating the current contract with the FAs and now regret not having a clause to prevent it from happening. Sour grapes. If the shoe was on the other foot, you can damn well believe that AA would be calling foul.
American should tread lightly because the FAs could just make a group effort NOT to bid on ANY last minute flights leaving the airline with little or no access to fill in those spots. This would cause LOTS of canceled flights and hurt an already struggling reputation. They have on-call FAs (aka RESERVE) but the Airline could be in a tough spot pretty quickly if the FAs stop bidding on those last minute flights. AND....how...
American should tread lightly because the FAs could just make a group effort NOT to bid on ANY last minute flights leaving the airline with little or no access to fill in those spots. This would cause LOTS of canceled flights and hurt an already struggling reputation. They have on-call FAs (aka RESERVE) but the Airline could be in a tough spot pretty quickly if the FAs stop bidding on those last minute flights. AND....how can an airline call it theft when their own procedures facilitate the opportunity? The airline can EASILY prevent this but they're too lazy and they want a way to blame the FAs especially during tense contract negotiations. This tells me we're playing with disaster.
Fix the scheduling system and stop blaming the worker who is following the agreed upon rules.
This is a double standard. Airlines frequently abuse their reserves that are sitting on standby. They will assign them to a flight just 15 minutes before they are to be released, after sitting in the airport reserve room for 5 hours. The airline scheduling department knows this flight is delayed, sometimes upto 4 hours. This requires the flight attendant to sit another 4 hours (now at the gate) then work a flight that may be...
This is a double standard. Airlines frequently abuse their reserves that are sitting on standby. They will assign them to a flight just 15 minutes before they are to be released, after sitting in the airport reserve room for 5 hours. The airline scheduling department knows this flight is delayed, sometimes upto 4 hours. This requires the flight attendant to sit another 4 hours (now at the gate) then work a flight that may be 4 to 6 hours long. This creates a fatigue situation which is unsafe for passengers and flight attendants that may only get 8 hours in a hotel room before their next 12 hour duty day....of which they will be lucky to get paid 7 hours.
Shame on airlines for penny pinching safety. Suck it up buttercups.
Absolute bollocks from AA.
Frankly I find it odd that they have bidding, rather than management scheduling shifts.
But they set up the system with its rules (and fail to pass on information about delays) so it's on them if people work using the rules to the disadvantage of AA.
This is really no different from complaining about passengers booking the cheaper tickets on flights when "they should have paid full fare".
This is childish bullying.
Best way to handle this would be to place a block on the bidding system for trips within a 24 hour period until the trip they are currently on now actually blocks in and lifting that 24 hour block! This can be installed without issues right now! No reason for AA to pay for trips that the person bids for and never has any interest in actually flying it!
This is an uninformed comment . The airline wants people to volunteer to pick up double trips . This help with the operations and preserves their reserves . They just don’t want to pay for the protections when they are unreliable , and have a delay that prevents the crew member from arriving on time for the second shift . They can’t have it both ways .
Why is the flying public so interest...
This is an uninformed comment . The airline wants people to volunteer to pick up double trips . This help with the operations and preserves their reserves . They just don’t want to pay for the protections when they are unreliable , and have a delay that prevents the crew member from arriving on time for the second shift . They can’t have it both ways .
Why is the flying public so interest in flight attendants. These blogs are becoming more about gossips , rather than focusing on miles and frequent flying related topics .
Get a life people .
There is nothing in the FA contract regarding having to provide “factual data”. That would be a contract violation and will not hold up.
If there is one industry that uses system nuances and minutiae to set policies that screw customers, it is the airlines. Now some of AA's employees are using AA's system nuances and policies to THEIR advantage. Delightful!
I don't see the problem. If the airline can't sort their company out then that's down to them. Better yet, here's a thought, pay your staff a better wage. You expect blood and sweat out of crew, expect them to put up with disgusting rude and even violent passengers on a daily basis. When you have intelligent crew who "work the system" due to your stupidly you want to punish them. Good luck with that
One other thing American's management may not consider: if they truly punish people for picking up these shifts, then who's going to pick them up? I imagine these delayed flights are the least desirable flights to take. You don't even know if/when you're going to work, it's last minute, etc.
As expensive as it might be to pay extra for these FAs to staff them, it might end up even more expensive to cancel a...
One other thing American's management may not consider: if they truly punish people for picking up these shifts, then who's going to pick them up? I imagine these delayed flights are the least desirable flights to take. You don't even know if/when you're going to work, it's last minute, etc.
As expensive as it might be to pay extra for these FAs to staff them, it might end up even more expensive to cancel a flight when they can't find people willing to take over.
Sure the current system means they need to find someone to cover the FAs original flight, but given that's a few hours away and is on time ie not delayed, it's probably easier to find a crew for it rather than deal with some rolling delay disaster on the verge of cancellation.
IOW, operationally, they're going to lose a lot of flexibility in staffing these delayed flights. I imagine the cost of cancelling a flight is a lot more than paying this extra salary to an FA. IOW they should be careful what they wish for...
The buddying system is the issue. It’s a job - send them their schedules for the month like the ME carriers and others do. It’s not a picnic that you get to pick when and where you want to go. They claim they have 10 K applicants dir 100 openings - good, then hire those who will adhere to corporate guidelines. This constant haggling with unions and entitled workers is ridiculous and a waste of...
The buddying system is the issue. It’s a job - send them their schedules for the month like the ME carriers and others do. It’s not a picnic that you get to pick when and where you want to go. They claim they have 10 K applicants dir 100 openings - good, then hire those who will adhere to corporate guidelines. This constant haggling with unions and entitled workers is ridiculous and a waste of time. Hire those who want this lifestyle, will accept the job duties, at the pay you offer and accept the schedule you want them to operate. It’s called a JOB for a reason. Just saying.
These employees ARE adhering to guidelines that are set by the company. There is NO way for employees to predict a delay. The company is just angry that the flight attendants want to go on strike due to them not providing fair work rules and pay after years of concessions and empty promises.
AA is wrong, and the flight attendants are right. They are allowed to take advantage of the system as long as they stay within the rules. IT's just like the famous Supreme Court decision in which the Court said that people are allowed to arrange their affairs to minimize their taxes as long as they don't break any laws/IRS regulations. If the AA rules for flight attendants are written poorly, that's AA's problem.
Looks like AA is caught with both hands in the cookie jar. By management logic, staff should be made to lose pay for late flights and for bad communication. No, no, no!
AA definitely suffers from a lack of transparency in posting rolling delays compared to their peers (we just had a post on UA's fantastic IT). However I will give credit to their EXP desk, usually when I call in with a reasonable request (eg "my connection is showing as 40 minutes right now but the incoming aircraft is definitely delayed more") they often will rebook me proactively even if the delay hasn't officially posted yet.
@lucky. I don’t see how they deserve a pay raise. Other than the other majors have gotten pay raises. The service in American flights is generally poor. If it was a more competitive landscape, most of them would be fired.
Flight attendants running a scam on rolling delays is just that, a scam. How many people have been screwed by 5 fa’s taking that first flight and then as in your example, Miami LAX gets...
@lucky. I don’t see how they deserve a pay raise. Other than the other majors have gotten pay raises. The service in American flights is generally poor. If it was a more competitive landscape, most of them would be fired.
Flight attendants running a scam on rolling delays is just that, a scam. How many people have been screwed by 5 fa’s taking that first flight and then as in your example, Miami LAX gets delayed. Meanwhile, the flight attendant gets paid for both.
I certainly agree American deserves some blame, They could also just change the system to say you must have double the rest time needed if you try and pick up a flight. That would settle most of this. Although I would guess American would need to hire more flight attendants.
The service level is determined by the company. The first role of flight attendants is safety. Raises aren't determined by customer satisfaction.
You dug into it perfectly: AA (and all airlines) are fine with scheduling crews for minimum rest. No one cares if you're fatigued, just go to the airport. But, if a crew member picks up a trip with min rest, anticipating a potential conflict, it's suddenly theft. AA is in charge of scheduling their airline. It's not up to crew members to NOT pick up trips because a lousy schedule could potentially occur.
Maybe they should offer these flight attendants a job in their operations center since it seems they are able to do a better job determining where the delays will occur than present staff.
I wish I could figure out how to profit on the rolling delays that drive me nuts on American.
My all time worse a number of years ago on AA was a flight that I was catching after work that was due to take off at 530PM and it didn't take off until just after midnight. I ended up getting into Phoenix at like 2AM and had been up for 24 hrs. It was a constant 15-20 minute delay due to a windshield issue. First the part was coming in from Dulles or Reagan then it was something else and finally we were given another plane that had arrived.
American wants zero accountability whatsoever for anything whether it be from the government or workers. They want no consequences for their poor planning and endless rolling delays they know full well fluff the numbers to make it seem they are better managed than they really are. Without consequences, American and other large corporations will continue doing whatever they want at the expense of the consumers and their workers. Team flight attendants all the way. Threaten...
American wants zero accountability whatsoever for anything whether it be from the government or workers. They want no consequences for their poor planning and endless rolling delays they know full well fluff the numbers to make it seem they are better managed than they really are. Without consequences, American and other large corporations will continue doing whatever they want at the expense of the consumers and their workers. Team flight attendants all the way. Threaten those that expose the problems they created than fix the problems is AA way.
I think a guy in Austin named Gary would approve of this
All unions do is steal, and the horrible flight attendants at AA are the bottom of the union scum bucket
Blue collar union workers making $60k are stealing? Explain.
THIS! Absolute scum!
Most of you don’t understand the issue what so ever, and Ben doesn’t either.
Flight attendants working a trip might have a leg that is delayed for weather or maintenance or a late inbound aircraft, usually the last leg. Maybe they get the word from the cockpit that the flight might even cancel, extending them into the next day. THAT’S when the FA’s are picking up trips. They pick up trips that normally they...
Most of you don’t understand the issue what so ever, and Ben doesn’t either.
Flight attendants working a trip might have a leg that is delayed for weather or maintenance or a late inbound aircraft, usually the last leg. Maybe they get the word from the cockpit that the flight might even cancel, extending them into the next day. THAT’S when the FA’s are picking up trips. They pick up trips that normally they would be legal for, but for the delay or CANX, they won’t be. I’ve seen it happen, and it’s a feeding frenzy.
The trip they are on, was supposed to return to base @
That is still American Airlines management problem you can't tell FA's one thing while lying to passengers on a rolling delay. Flight attendants can't go off the word (rumor) from the cockpit they have to go off what is officially posted on their AA issued devices. If AA is officially telling their FA's and the flying public this delayed flight will leave at 8pm then then their FA's have every right to pick up a...
That is still American Airlines management problem you can't tell FA's one thing while lying to passengers on a rolling delay. Flight attendants can't go off the word (rumor) from the cockpit they have to go off what is officially posted on their AA issued devices. If AA is officially telling their FA's and the flying public this delayed flight will leave at 8pm then then their FA's have every right to pick up a trip from open time the following day because they are going off what AA official has posted. Even if the cockpit tells the FA's this plane isn't going anywhere and we all will be staying the night in this city flight attendants can't take the work of the pilot if their devices but more importantly their schedule is still showing the flight leaving at 8pm. If I were a AA flight attendant and I picked up a trip and my schedule still showed a 8pm departure I wish management would call me in for an investigation because at the moment when I pick up the trip AA was showing a 8pm departure. If AA had no intention of operating the flight at 8pm then that is on AA to show canceled prior to the FA picking up the trip.
* maybe their operations shouldn't be so unreliable that this is a predictable loophole. *
Just saying.
And yet as a passenger, I've never been informed until I walk up to the gate.
Im sure their system is sophisticated enough to know whether the bidding crew member is actually “ legal” to bid for the trip as well as flight details ,otherwise the carrier needs to have better software, that’s the way it works with other carriers - it all sounds very weird to me
The company's arguing it both ways.
AA towers (operations centers) at hubs used to post departure times. AA towers were a management function. Post-merger, the US policy of enforcing literal 'operational control' centralized this to specifically flight dispatch at the IOC in Dallas. While the local towers were not always up-to-date, neither was centralizing it, and one could argue that the problem actually got worse as the company got larger.
Regardless of which is a...
The company's arguing it both ways.
AA towers (operations centers) at hubs used to post departure times. AA towers were a management function. Post-merger, the US policy of enforcing literal 'operational control' centralized this to specifically flight dispatch at the IOC in Dallas. While the local towers were not always up-to-date, neither was centralizing it, and one could argue that the problem actually got worse as the company got larger.
Regardless of which is a better operational philosophy, because of the enforcement of operational control by dispatch, dispatch is the responsible party appointed by current AA management to control ETD/ETA times and manage resources.
To fault flight attendants for picking up trips with barely legal crew rest is to have a flight attendant judge that the flight is 'nowhere near departure' because an oil service door on an engine is open and there's a ladder up to it, or the inverse, and nonsensical.
AA negotiated this in the Flight Attendant Agreement. Now that it is hurting them they want to change the rules. There are countless areas in the contract that negatively effect the Flight Attendants and AA’s response is, “If you’d like to change that you will have to negotiate that in the next contract.”
This is AA admitting that they know there are inevitable delays that they are not communicating to customers (or FAs) in a timely manner. Feels like the perfect basis for a class action lawsuit against AA on behalf of passengers whose time was wasted by this policy.
So FA’s are doing something that is totally legal per their CBA and the airline is accusing them of theft?! If this ever got in front of a judge they would have a field day at the expense of management. What pencil pusher came up with this?
And if AA management states the flight attendants know there will be a delay thought it is not yet posted isn’t that offering a product you know you can’t deliver. Keeping your customers in the dark while complaining their public information is not based on currently known information is…… fraud, dishonest, negligent or any other such thought. AA management again wants it both ways.
American can’t just update its software to prevent FAs from picking up a trip they are legal for. As you mentioned there is a contract between management and the FAs and there is no language to prevent the FAs doing this. I’m sure this will end up in front of an arbitrator if discipline is actually issued.
American has implemented this kafkaesque policy is denying inevitable delays (aka lying to passengers) and now that the FAs have picked up on it their solution is to threaten the FAs. That is remarkable when you think about it.
All the times I've shown up to the gate at boarding time with no plane to be found and the gate agents tacking on 15 minute incremental delays instead of giving us actual information... who is...
American has implemented this kafkaesque policy is denying inevitable delays (aka lying to passengers) and now that the FAs have picked up on it their solution is to threaten the FAs. That is remarkable when you think about it.
All the times I've shown up to the gate at boarding time with no plane to be found and the gate agents tacking on 15 minute incremental delays instead of giving us actual information... who is profiting from this? How does this policy benefit them?
The clowns from Phoenix need to go.
Ultimately the FA has no guarantee that the flight will be cancelled even though that is what the hope? People do this all the time on one sense or another across multiple industries. Volunteer for additional work hoping they will get paid for work that might not be needed. So now when AA is trying to find FAs with more available duty time to volunteer where I crew will go illegal and therefore can't work the flight will they get any takers?
"If this is such a big problem, why doesn’t American update its software to not let flight attendants bid on these kinds of trips? It seems like American should be deciding how realistic it is for a flight attendant to bid on a trip without missing their next trip, rather than leaving it to the individual flight attendant"
Exactly! I am team flight attendant all the way on this - the system that exists is...
"If this is such a big problem, why doesn’t American update its software to not let flight attendants bid on these kinds of trips? It seems like American should be deciding how realistic it is for a flight attendant to bid on a trip without missing their next trip, rather than leaving it to the individual flight attendant"
Exactly! I am team flight attendant all the way on this - the system that exists is hardly "theft" or "illegal" if it lets them schedule these trips. If it's a problem, then close the corporate loop hole
Precisely. If flight attendants can so easily see that the flight will be delayed, so AA should be able too. And do not allow bidding on such flights
Unlike other airlines, AA often knows that there will be a delay and yet never communicates this until very late in the day. When you actually check where your plane is and you see it can never make it to your airport in time for your flight, then it’s just insulting to not tell passengers and claim the flight is on time. Recently had a flight to MIA that apparently was going to clearly be...
Unlike other airlines, AA often knows that there will be a delay and yet never communicates this until very late in the day. When you actually check where your plane is and you see it can never make it to your airport in time for your flight, then it’s just insulting to not tell passengers and claim the flight is on time. Recently had a flight to MIA that apparently was going to clearly be delayed for the whole day given the aircraft was already delayed in the morning for its first flight. No way to make that up. American didn’t acknowledge the delay until it was too late to rebook myself via DFW. Had they been honest about the delay as soon as it was apparent, their customers wouldn’t have been stuck in Miami due to missed connections from a lack of alternatives. Since AA isn’t honest with us, it’s difficult to understand AAs position. Update the systems, be transparent about delays as soon as you anticipate there being one, and your crew won’t have the ability to do what AA is complaining about. Customers would also appreciate it.
The 'where your plane is' argument is weak because they swap equipments all the time.
Sometimes they know it's delayed but they haven't decided to delay which flight and cancel the other one. So just a tail number is scheduled for you doesn't always guarantee it's your plane.
Just like they always blame some weather 3000 miles away for any delay. Don't believe what the airline tells you, not even where is your plane.
1. Since the company, specifically crew scheduling doesn't let flight attendants know of delays, there is no way for them to determine when a flight attendants know about it. 2. Picking up last minute is allowed by the work rules in the contract. 3. No one can "foresee" how long a delay will be. 4. Airlines can avoid creating delays by not scheduling too tight time frames in between flights. 5. What pay cut did...
1. Since the company, specifically crew scheduling doesn't let flight attendants know of delays, there is no way for them to determine when a flight attendants know about it. 2. Picking up last minute is allowed by the work rules in the contract. 3. No one can "foresee" how long a delay will be. 4. Airlines can avoid creating delays by not scheduling too tight time frames in between flights. 5. What pay cut did flight attendants get after 9/11? How many years have they been waiting for raises and a new (non bankruptcy) contract? Why did the airlines steal flight attendant pensions and work rules? 6. How much is the CEO and top executives making? Wanna talk about stealing? Let's start at the top.
THIS!
Best comment! Thank you!
Bad corporate IT systems + bad rolling delay policy + bad labor rules
= American gets what it deserves.
So AA is threatening cabin crew because the cabin crew is relying on AA to provide truthful and accurate information?
Seems quite ridiculous to claim that cabin crew are being dishonest when all they are doing is accepting AAs claims as to flight status. AA is essentially arguing that cabin crew should be expected to know more than AA when flights will depart. Would love to see a case like this go to court...
As the APFA have been saying.
We
Are
Ready
You’d think they might look at their crew scheduling software to prevent this from happening before they start accusing staff of theft.
This is totally on American.
As a passenger, we're often told that we're not allowed to be rebooked during rolling delays even if it's incredibly obvious that the delay is going to be significant. By that same logic, FAs should enjoy the same benefit (or restriction) of using the current "estimated time" for whatever they're trying to accomplish
“The company will examine…what the crew knew and when.”
Good luck establishing and proving *that.*
Maybe AA should fix its terrible rolling delay problem instead of blaming flight attendants for taking advantage of their broken system. But this is 2024 AA that seems disinterested in fixing the root cause of issues
Union scum gonna union scum
You have a 40 hour work week?
Thank a union.
You have a 0 hour work week but still get paid and have insurance?
Thank a liberal.
Let me guess “Jojo” you’re another Dunning-Krueger effect corporate know-it-all who gets your info from the WSJ or worse an “entrepreneur” taking advantage of others and who thinks capitalism is fair and that the very few worker protections we have in this country were bestowed on we wage slaves out of the goodness of the hearts of the benevolent owner class. Just once I’d love to see a guy like you truly face exploitation and...
Let me guess “Jojo” you’re another Dunning-Krueger effect corporate know-it-all who gets your info from the WSJ or worse an “entrepreneur” taking advantage of others and who thinks capitalism is fair and that the very few worker protections we have in this country were bestowed on we wage slaves out of the goodness of the hearts of the benevolent owner class. Just once I’d love to see a guy like you truly face exploitation and you’d be begging for organized labor to come save you. If you want unions to act less zealously then we need to curb the excesses of capitalism. The world’s ten richest men more than doubled their fortunes from $700 billion to $1.5 trillion —at a rate of $15,000 per second or $1.3 billion a day— during the first two years of the pandemic while the incomes of 99 percent of humanity fell and over 160 million more people were forced into poverty. But yeah blame the unions for everything dude. It’s the unions keeping us from success.
@A. Realist
You hate capitalism yet you whine about richest people getting wealthier based on based on capitalist benchmark like wealth on paper. In the same time you compare paper wealth with actual income?
I wonder Dunning-Krueger applies to who or what do you read, WSJ?
@Eskimo You are debating yourself on a page about airline miles. I said nothing about hating capitalism. Capitalism is a theory. Beautiful on paper but 100 percent not real. Economies and people’s actual quality of life in those economies is what is real. There isn’t true capitalism anywhere in the world. Wealth isn’t being created by these individuals out of thin air. The wealth (whether real or “on paper” as you say) is predicated on...
@Eskimo You are debating yourself on a page about airline miles. I said nothing about hating capitalism. Capitalism is a theory. Beautiful on paper but 100 percent not real. Economies and people’s actual quality of life in those economies is what is real. There isn’t true capitalism anywhere in the world. Wealth isn’t being created by these individuals out of thin air. The wealth (whether real or “on paper” as you say) is predicated on the value others generate for them, and the balance is out of whack from where it was during even the Reagan years. The wealthy used to pay a marginal income tax rate in line with their success and the country was better off for it. But today? Making money by moving money and not generating any value? Sure, pay a lower tax rate than people who actually work. Inherit all your wealth or make your money by betting against stocks? Sure, you can hide it overseas to avoid paying any taxes but still live here and have all the full advantages of being a U.S. citizen. It’s disgusting.
Unions are not going to be happy about this.
And the unions would be perfectly justified. This is a crystal clear demonstration straight from AA management that they regard their cabin crew employees as their enemy, not a valued part of their success. Duh! Treat employees like crap, don't be surprised if they return the same contempt for the company. This is how companies collapse. Take look at Boeing. Boeing's management has treated their own front-line employees like crap for decades, regarding them as...
And the unions would be perfectly justified. This is a crystal clear demonstration straight from AA management that they regard their cabin crew employees as their enemy, not a valued part of their success. Duh! Treat employees like crap, don't be surprised if they return the same contempt for the company. This is how companies collapse. Take look at Boeing. Boeing's management has treated their own front-line employees like crap for decades, regarding them as enemies, gagging then retaliating against anyone who pushed back on their cost-cutting, ignoring safety warnings, punishing whistleblowers...the result is the company falling apart faster than a speeding 737MAX door plug. With American Airlines treating their front-line employees with the same contempt (and rubbing their noses in it), AA leadership and AA customers should expect the same kind of future as Boeing now finds itself in. The idiots running AA couldn't manage a good hot dog stand.
If you fly a lot.Add you really want to know what’s going on with your flight and/or the airplane that’s going to take you. Signup to one of the inexpensive flight tracking apps. It will do wonders to access FAA data about every commercial airplane schedule. Including original departure and destination time. Including early and late flight. And most of the apps track the incoming airplane schedule and where that airplane actually is when look...
If you fly a lot.Add you really want to know what’s going on with your flight and/or the airplane that’s going to take you. Signup to one of the inexpensive flight tracking apps. It will do wonders to access FAA data about every commercial airplane schedule. Including original departure and destination time. Including early and late flight. And most of the apps track the incoming airplane schedule and where that airplane actually is when look it. Multiple times I have contact family members to tell. They are likely going to a connecting flight. And they can do to work around the delay/cacellation, etc. I’lm certain AL knows it’s Pilots an FA know how to acces flight delays and cancellations via apps. . The APPS are as cheap as ten dollars a month. Gain the power of information and use it to your advantage.
Employees who commit fraud aren't valued or part of the companies success. It's very easy to prove fraud patterns with the right software. People think companies are stupid, but technology has opened up A LOT of detection methods. Just like casinos can pick up fraudulent betting patterns very quickly.
Good. Someone has to stand up to scum corporate management.