For a long time, American Airlines management and the union representing flight attendants were in contentious negotiations over a new contract. In late July 2024, a tentative contract was reached, and over the past several weeks, members have been voting on whether or not to approve the new contract.
There’s now an exciting update, as this contract has been ratified!
Details of the new contract for American flight attendants
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) has today revealed that members have ratified a new contract. 95% of flight attendants voted, and 87% of votes cast were in favor of this new contract.
For American’s 28,000 flight attendants, this new contract is worth around $4 billion in incremental value over the previous contract. It includes hourly pay increases, retroactive pay, boarding pay, and profit sharing, among other things. The union claims that these pay rates are better than at Delta, which otherwise sets the standard in the industry (though I think the math on that is a bit fuzzy).
When it comes to pay increases, flight attendants will get an immediate 18-20.5% pay increase as of the date of signing, depending on their years of service. Then they get a 2.75% pay increase in the second year, a 3% pay increase in the third year, a 3% pay increase in the fourth year, and a 3.5% pay increase in the fourth year.
For example, American’s most junior flight attendants will go from earning $30.35 per hour, to earning $35.82 per hour upon the date of signing, to earning $40.42 per hour in the fourth year. Meanwhile American’s most senior flight attendants will go from earning $68.25 per hour, to earning $82.24 per hour upon the date of signing, to earning $92.79 per hour in the fourth year.
For those wanting to do some very basic math, flight attendants typically work somewhere around 1,000 hours per year — some a little less, and some a little more.
On top of that, American flight attendants will get significant retroactive pay, as a percentage of their earnings in previous years. They receive 3% retroactive pay for 2020, 4% retroactive pay for 2021, 4% retroactive pay for 2022, 10.8% retroactive pay for 2023, and 20% retroactive pay for 2024 (through August 31, 2024).
American flight attendants will also finally get boarding pay, calculated at 50% of the rate of standard hourly pay, and adjusted for how long the boarding process is. Since boarding is 30 to 50 minutes, this will range from $8.96 to $34.27, depending on seniority and boarding length.
Flight attendants are also getting an official new profit sharing benefit (though one wonders if there will be any profits to share, given American’s performance). Profit sharing is equal to 10% of pre-tax earnings up to $2.5 billion, and an amount equal to 20% of pre-tax earnings above $2.5 billion. This is the same formula that other work groups at American receive, including pilots.
I’m thrilled to see a new contract ratified!
As a frequent American passenger, I’m delighted to see flight attendants ratify a new contract. For one, they deserved more pay, because the previous pay rates just weren’t enough for many employees to live on.
I know this will do a lot to help the lives of flight attendants, both in terms of retroactive pay, as well as higher ongoing pay, both while inflight, and during boarding. Flight attendants didn’t get everything they wanted, but this seems like a fair compromise.
For us passengers, it should hopefully also lead to better morale, and those red “WAR” lanyards and pins will now go into retirement. 😉
Now, it’s going to be interesting to see how this contract impacts American’s long term financials. American has by far the weakest financial performance of any of the “big three” US carriers, so actually paying for these wage increases could be a challenge. Then again, frontline employees shouldn’t be on the hook for the mismanagement by American’s executives.
Bottom line
American flight attendants have finally ratified a new contract. This is a rich contract offering $4 billion in incremental value over the life of the contract. This includes significant hourly pay increases, boarding pay, retroactive pay, and more.
What do you make of American flight attendants getting a new contract?
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