Here’s something I wasn’t aware of. I recently wrote a post about my general frustration with service on American lately, and the degree to which some bad apples are lazy. I’m told that my post was shared in a private American Airlines flight attendant group, and not surprisingly, it was controversial. I only know this because I had several flight attendants reach out to me, and they had very different perspectives based on whether they were ex-American or ex-US Airways (meaning depending on which airline they worked for prior to the merger).
The emails I received from flight attendants on both “sides” had consistent messages:
- Ex-US Airways flight attendants basically said that ex-American flight attendants are just lazy, and that’s the problem
- Ex-American flight attendants explained why they’re incredibly unhappy in spite of getting unsolicited pay raises
The way American’s management is acting at the moment sure is interesting. They’ve given flight attendants proactive pay raises, they’ve given employees $1,000 tax plan bonuses (though many companies have done that), and it seems like their biggest fear is giving flight attendants even a smidgen more work, based on the memos they write.
Apparently there’s a reason that many American flight attendants don’t like Doug Parker, which I wasn’t aware of. Before I share this, I want to be 100% clear on a few things:
- I have no clue whether there’s actually any validity to this claim from flight attendants
- I didn’t survey thousands of flight attendants, so I can’t say that this is actually a widespread point of contention, though several American flight attendants emailed me and brought this up
- I’m sharing this simply because this is a situation I wasn’t previously aware of (and I think I generally have an okay understanding of American’s current labor relations situation), and it’s an interesting theory
With that out of the way, let me share an email I received from an American flight attendant who came across my story:
Was reading your article “The Sad State Of Service On American Airlines” and thought I would give you a little backdrop as to why money isn’t motivating the flight attendants as you’ve asserted it should.
Long story short, the flight attendants voted NO to the contract they’re now forced to work under. While this may not seem too important to someone on the outside, it’s very important to a unionized workgroup. What it does is allow a minority group to control a majority group. It’s ununionlike. And this isn’t the first time it’s happened. It happened in 2003 as well, during the airline’s restructuring.
To simplify, the president of the flight attendant’s union, APFA, negotiated a secret agreement (Bridge Agreement) with Doug Parker when he was CEO of US Airways. It was done over dinner during a meeting hosted by her cousin, Tom Weir, who just happened to be the treasurer of US Airways (now American Airlines Group). Why this matters — nepotism aside — is because Ms. Glading was negotiating with a non-employer who was having undisclosed merger talks with said employer. Laura Glading should have been negotiating with Tom Horton, the one who signed our checks, not Doug Parker, a guy who was trying to represent shareholders at an airline that we didn’t work at.
Since the collusion and nepotism was discovered, 2900 flight attendants asked the DOJ to investigate the actions that defrauded American’s flight attendants out of their pension contributions, retiree health benefits, profit sharing and work rules. To date, the DOJ has not dismissed the complaint.
But that didn’t stop Doug Parker from offering Laura Glading a consultancy with the airline upon her resignation from her position as union president over the scandal. To add insult to injury, Mr. Parker, allowed Ms. Glading to leave the company with a multi-million dollar retirement travel pass, one afforded a very small layer of American’s top echelon: unlimited lifetime positive-space first-class travel for herself, spouse and dependent children. Yes, it’s a pass so valuable that the airline stopped selling the AAirpass even though it was a coach seat and not first class.
These two links tell the story in detail. I think you’ll find the story of interest as most passengers and/or investors are unaware.
Very interesting. Like I said, I’m sharing this because this is something I wasn’t previously aware of. I can’t vouch for the veracity of the claims, but it seems that at least some number of American flight attendants feel this way. Nowadays American has a lot of new hire flight attendants, so obviously they wouldn’t be impacted by the old politics involved here. I do wonder if this is a widely held belief by American’s more senior flight attendants, though.
Were you aware of the source of the “beef” that some American flight attendants seem to have with Doug Parker? What do you make of this?
Also worth keeping in mind that flight attendants were just striking over new rules that prevent them from using their own sick leave during "critical periods" (typically holiday season, what others might refer to as Flu season). Not to mention they're still dealing with toxic uniforms triggering reactions ranging from mild itching to full on hospitalisation depending on level of sensitisation. Add that to block holders with 30+ years of seniority being put back on...
Also worth keeping in mind that flight attendants were just striking over new rules that prevent them from using their own sick leave during "critical periods" (typically holiday season, what others might refer to as Flu season). Not to mention they're still dealing with toxic uniforms triggering reactions ranging from mild itching to full on hospitalisation depending on level of sensitisation. Add that to block holders with 30+ years of seniority being put back on rotating reserve (where they spent the first 20 years of their careers) and you've got a recipe for physically run down exhausted crew. Even when trying to keep up a smile the new scheduling might mean they're working trips so close together for so long that they're barely meeting FAA regs for rest. It's a pretty rough time for ALL the crew at AA and staying physically on top of it all is even harder when your co-pays went up Again this year It's a good thing my parents Love their jobs. All I'm saying.
From what I have seen, US Airways can’t even hold a candle to American Airlines. I have heard about the possible collusion between Gladding and Parker. The whole merger has been a slap in the face to American employees and passengers...while nothing was ever done to investigate possibility of said collusion. It’s obvious why US Airways, that actually should’ve liquidated years ago (2x under USAir and 2x as US Airways) wanted to merge with American...+$4...
From what I have seen, US Airways can’t even hold a candle to American Airlines. I have heard about the possible collusion between Gladding and Parker. The whole merger has been a slap in the face to American employees and passengers...while nothing was ever done to investigate possibility of said collusion. It’s obvious why US Airways, that actually should’ve liquidated years ago (2x under USAir and 2x as US Airways) wanted to merge with American...+$4 billion in liquid assets when bankruptcy was filed. And American became profitable before even exiting bankruptcy. Before they left Star Alliance, they tried to merge with Delta, but that was stopped due to antitrust laws and creating the largest airline. But, yet, none of that mattered with US Airways and American merger. US Airways doesn’t seem to have the best track record. Now, American’s planes are cheap and becoming the same junk that US Airways flies...
Four year FA here for AA
Love my job and you will always get your pre departures with me.
IMO the biggest gripe with the job is that we simply are not recognized for our profession. The company couldn’t give a rats ass about us. But we end up making things work in the name of customer service.
When I was hired, we voted down the contract, my biggest issue was our former union president...
Four year FA here for AA
Love my job and you will always get your pre departures with me.
IMO the biggest gripe with the job is that we simply are not recognized for our profession. The company couldn’t give a rats ass about us. But we end up making things work in the name of customer service.
When I was hired, we voted down the contract, my biggest issue was our former union president blatantly said that we could make 6 figure salary with the pay raise. That was max pay including international override, purser and language pay and top that off flying 160 hours a month. That literally is less than one percent of the workforce with these qualifications.
Anyway since I’ve been with American, we have seen Doug downgrade our product incredibly. Service levels have been “standardized” which is a nice way of saying reduced.
Our nice planes are being upgraded to a future fleet with no IFE
Our maintenance is a joke cause everything non safety related is deferred in order to keep the planes flying
Our uniforms are killing us, I just drove home with tissue paper lining my neck as I broke out mid flight from a rash wearing new twin hill shirts which I’ve washed and soaked 3 times in viniger
Our flexibility is getting stripped away and we now have some trips which fly 26 days a month. How do we have a life outside of American with such a schedule?
You say just quit, but we’ve worked hard for this job and we love it. It’s just major leadership changes need to be done.
I pray nightly for another DUI
I feel compelled to address a few misconceptions that people from AW/LUS like to perpetuate. AA's bankruptcy what about a phony as they come since they had over 4 billion dollars in the bank. It was done in a district in NY to ditch labor costs, i.e. pensions and retiree health benefits. LUS did not "save" AA, instead we have a regional carrier mentality destroying a legacy carrier. Our product is being ruined on piece...
I feel compelled to address a few misconceptions that people from AW/LUS like to perpetuate. AA's bankruptcy what about a phony as they come since they had over 4 billion dollars in the bank. It was done in a district in NY to ditch labor costs, i.e. pensions and retiree health benefits. LUS did not "save" AA, instead we have a regional carrier mentality destroying a legacy carrier. Our product is being ruined on piece at a time. No screens for in flight entertainment seatback or otherwise, instead you will be required to "stream" that is IF the wifi is working. Everything is being done on the cheap especially IT. It is very disheartening to see your company being systematically taken apart. Cramming in more and more seats, dumping unsold seats into travel sites the night before for pennies on the dollar, slamming the door 10 minutes before departure for the sake of "on-time" ratings. The list is pretty long. So before you go addressing all our "laziness and ungratefulness" and maybe we should look for another job talk, maybe you should realize the company many of us have worked hard for, for much of our lives has merged with a company with a completely different corporate culture. It is sad but much more is at play than you think. Just ask the mechanics. They are still waiting on a contract. Sadly, we were sold out by our union president. This merger was the worst thing ever for both airlines!
We need to put ourselves in these FAs position. Had you been hired 10, 15 or 20+ years ago and had been offered a pension, retiree health benefits, etc. and then management changed all the rules on you midway through your career even though you were "guaranteed" those benefits when you were hired, you'd think you've been duped. You would have made different decisions regarding work, etc. You also took less pay during your career...
We need to put ourselves in these FAs position. Had you been hired 10, 15 or 20+ years ago and had been offered a pension, retiree health benefits, etc. and then management changed all the rules on you midway through your career even though you were "guaranteed" those benefits when you were hired, you'd think you've been duped. You would have made different decisions regarding work, etc. You also took less pay during your career because you felt in the long run you would benefit. AA also furloughed so many FAs after 9/11 and gave them no raises until 2008, just in time for the next recession when they laid off or furloughed FAs again, I can understand their frustration - especially when the executives/management were given tremendous bonuses for creating NO VALUE whatsoever.
Pre-USAir merger - I flew USAir a few times (US SCARE is actually true). You could definitely tell this was NOT AA, no where near AA. I knew when I heard the news it would be a race to the bottom. And that has now happened. I've switched my flights to other carriers now unless AA provides the best times/price. This coming from a former EXP AA member.
For those who enjoy reading details of "stuff", https://www.apfa.org/contractmain
That page contains info including rates of pay, LAA On Duty Contract Guide, LUS On Duty Contract Guide, CLA (US Airways Bridge Agreement) and more.
You can spend hours going through the On Duty Contract Guides.
Hourly rates go from $29.47 to $66.26 for 2018.
A number of people should really change jobs but don't. In some cases for obvious reasons such as they are...
For those who enjoy reading details of "stuff", https://www.apfa.org/contractmain
That page contains info including rates of pay, LAA On Duty Contract Guide, LUS On Duty Contract Guide, CLA (US Airways Bridge Agreement) and more.
You can spend hours going through the On Duty Contract Guides.
Hourly rates go from $29.47 to $66.26 for 2018.
A number of people should really change jobs but don't. In some cases for obvious reasons such as they are over paid in their current job, they can't get a similar job in their preferred location, family commitments, etc.
Bottom line is if someone gets frequent complaints from customers, then a company should remove the person from their job and they should not be protected by anyone or anything.
Fortunately I've had limited issues and did my best to complain directly to the company afterwards to ensure it is noted by the company and hopefully held against the employee unless it was a one time thing for that employee.
its funny, i've gotten shitty service from FAs sporting APFA lanyards but excellent service from other FAs, pmAA or pmUS. Sounds like sour grapes.
It's not secret that the employees of AA were negotiating with US management to entice them to go thru with the merger. It was all over the news.
If so many of the anti-union remarks here are true, why then are Southwest FAs so much more pleasant to be around?
All this "if you don't like your job, quit and move on" is adolescent swagger talk. Most people simply do not have that choice unless they are young, mobile, often unmarried, with a well-established work history.
American corporations and culture are set up to retain employees for the corporation's advantage. Look at...
If so many of the anti-union remarks here are true, why then are Southwest FAs so much more pleasant to be around?
All this "if you don't like your job, quit and move on" is adolescent swagger talk. Most people simply do not have that choice unless they are young, mobile, often unmarried, with a well-established work history.
American corporations and culture are set up to retain employees for the corporation's advantage. Look at America's long history of tying healthcare to work situations. Corporations endeavour to create situations where employees are obligated and committed, e.g. time-based contracts that create inducements (bonuses at a certain point) and punishments, refunds to the employer when contracts are not completed.
And, forpetessake, aren't we all familiar with passive-aggression? Most of us see it lots of it. If you do not FEEL you have much control, well, impede the progress unless you really want to be a good little soldier. Is anyone except the top plutocrats happy with claustrophobic, crowded planes, demanding schedules and being bossed around? No one who works for an airline has much control over his/her work and destiny any longer.
And MikeC, you are an ideal target...if Doug Parker is not available to get coffee spilled on him, you will have to do on this flight.
You really “didn’t know” about the AA PA ‘s dissatisfaction...as a 30+ ‘Veteran’ ‘bis‘ AA MM Freq flyer, I must comment, without derision, that’s what occurs when one flys
The world’s Airlines piece meal instead of ‘experiencing’ each individually..
The rancour that has existed over the years has been clearly evident to those who rode the AA domestic ups and downs
I Have experienced ‘lazy, I’ve had rude, I’ve had angry, yet...
You really “didn’t know” about the AA PA ‘s dissatisfaction...as a 30+ ‘Veteran’ ‘bis‘ AA MM Freq flyer, I must comment, without derision, that’s what occurs when one flys
The world’s Airlines piece meal instead of ‘experiencing’ each individually..
The rancour that has existed over the years has been clearly evident to those who rode the AA domestic ups and downs
I Have experienced ‘lazy, I’ve had rude, I’ve had angry, yet I flew on....domestically... because every once in a while a caring, courteous FA, Restored my ‘faith’...Even If It was for a Short Flight ..perhaps Communing with the ‘kettles ‘ more often would serve You Well ...
@truth ~Truth!
this is the problem with political left wing unions!! they are not helpful only to the union not the workers..they do not care about their workers just their DUES!!!!
Unionization was done by long forgotten United vp who thought that employees would be better if they policed themselves
He created a monster unwittingly in all airlines based on seniority not ability
Imagine your 90 yr old surgeon operating on you based on seniority
The LAA FAs need only to blame themselves for undermining their own airline as it was coming thro bankruptcy
They got their 30 pieces of silver and now they are unhappy
@TK +1 !!!
The AA FA left out one important fact... AA was bankrupt. The canceling of the pension was a decision of the bankruptcy court. It was also necessary - UA and DL did the same thing. There was zero need to negotiate with AMR Corp execs - they had no say in the matter. US bought the bankrupt company with stipulations, such as the FA contract. And the AA FA's shot down a good contract for...
The AA FA left out one important fact... AA was bankrupt. The canceling of the pension was a decision of the bankruptcy court. It was also necessary - UA and DL did the same thing. There was zero need to negotiate with AMR Corp execs - they had no say in the matter. US bought the bankrupt company with stipulations, such as the FA contract. And the AA FA's shot down a good contract for a worse one. And DP still gave them perks.
I am no fan of DP, but the AA FA's laziness trumps all of that. Get to work or quit!
Amar - thanks for your contribution. I hope to be on one of your flights. Also thanks Gary - I knew I read about this extensively already!
Amar - thanks for your contribution. I hope to be on one of your flights.
So glad I don't fly AA. And hopeful DL's FA's never unionize.
I am a top tier flier of American and it is really hit and miss on the quality and interest of the flight attendants from one flight to another. This week I was on 6 American flights and it went from excellent service to almost I could care less about you with regards to service and 5 out of the 6 I was in 1st class. You can usually tell a flight attendant that worked...
I am a top tier flier of American and it is really hit and miss on the quality and interest of the flight attendants from one flight to another. This week I was on 6 American flights and it went from excellent service to almost I could care less about you with regards to service and 5 out of the 6 I was in 1st class. You can usually tell a flight attendant that worked for America West as they are the best in caring about the passengers. Both US AIR and American employees no matter what their job is should be thankful for what the management team from America West to save both US Air and American from being out of business with no jobs, benefits or retirement. If you are a flight attendant reading this you are the face of the airline as you spend the most time with the customer. We all have bad days but for those hours that you are flying you need to but do everything possible to put on a Great Attitude and be the face of the airline as there are other chooses of airlines to fly and without the customer, you might not have a job. Put yourselves in their shoes and treat them like you would expect to be treated. I respect the job you do and it is very important and your main responsibility is the safety of the passengers, but being friendly and respective of each flyer that you may have 5 minutes total contact with during a flight is that too much to ask?
It is all smoke screen..... as a passenger I don't care if you are upset or not......i paid for that flight and you the FA showed up to work do your work I am not the subject of your frustrations nor your punch bag.....
Sounds like perhaps Parker and Glading should be sharing adjoining prison cells if what the letter-writer claims is actually true...
AA should just go bankrupt and go out of business completely.
And Parker should lose all his stock options and pension.
And the lazy FAs whether from US or AA should be thankful that they even had a job.
The only ones I'd feel bad for would be a few good FAs.
Treating customers badly for what the executives did makes as much sense as treating the ground crew badly for flight delays.
Doug does what he does because he can get away with it. 99% of people complain to their neighbor instead of going to the top. If everyone who got upset wrote [email protected], we would have a VERY different airline.
@truth
I wonder who is really the stupid one here from what you said. I’m a non white female and yes I also agree that if you are so unhappy with your job then you need to leave instead of dragging it down the bottom affecting others. You mentioned of the benefits, insurances, vacation blah blah that you will lose if you quit, well... obviously you knew what you can get with that job...
@truth
I wonder who is really the stupid one here from what you said. I’m a non white female and yes I also agree that if you are so unhappy with your job then you need to leave instead of dragging it down the bottom affecting others. You mentioned of the benefits, insurances, vacation blah blah that you will lose if you quit, well... obviously you knew what you can get with that job but your still unhappy and think you deserved much more or should get much more. If that’s what you think, then you need to go look for another job that offers up to your par. If you feel that’s your worth, why do you worry of not getting a job that should offer you more instead of less? If the cons are greater than the pros from your current job, made you so unhappy, unmotivated and unwilling to provide the required level services to your customers then you shouldn’t be at your job. You feel you deserve more then go look outside to see if you can find anywhere else, if you can’t find it outside, doesn’t that tell you that you should adjust or come to reality of your thinking on what you truly deserved? It’s a joke you called those people stupid.
Truth - That's the root cause of so many issues nowadays, people simply do not have empathy any more.
It's not hard to put yourself in the shoes of a flight attendant and all the things you listed are basic common sense, yet people just won't do it.
And no, that's not an excuse for people in low skilled jobs to never change, it's an explanation as to why many of them can't "just do...
Truth - That's the root cause of so many issues nowadays, people simply do not have empathy any more.
It's not hard to put yourself in the shoes of a flight attendant and all the things you listed are basic common sense, yet people just won't do it.
And no, that's not an excuse for people in low skilled jobs to never change, it's an explanation as to why many of them can't "just do it".
Finally, it's amusing how the general view on here is people should stop whining and just change their job if they're unhappy, yet it's fair game to whine about stupid little things on the airline you use? How about you take your own advice, shut up and move to a different one.
It's all soooo simple, huh? If you don't like your job, just leave it and get another!
Except that healthcare (more specifically insurance) is TIED TO THE JOB. Lose your job, lose your family's insurance. Also, lose your seniority, vacation, sick days, retirement plan, and other benefits. And don't forget the myriad opportunities awaiting someone with the specialized training of...a flight attendant.
Comment sections across the world are filled with stupid white males wondering...
It's all soooo simple, huh? If you don't like your job, just leave it and get another!
Except that healthcare (more specifically insurance) is TIED TO THE JOB. Lose your job, lose your family's insurance. Also, lose your seniority, vacation, sick days, retirement plan, and other benefits. And don't forget the myriad opportunities awaiting someone with the specialized training of...a flight attendant.
Comment sections across the world are filled with stupid white males wondering why everyone doesn't have white male privilege.
As a Delta elite who has moved a fair amount of travel over to AA, I have also found the LAA FA's to basically be incredibly lazy. For me, one small data point is the extreme infrequency with which the FA's bother to do a pre-departure beverage service even when plenty of time, no delays, boarded on time, etc. It's supposed to be part of their standard service yet they refuse.
@Nate,
Exactly, there is no connection. Unhappy people are going to be unhappy and try to make others unhappy. They're likely to be the most vocal too. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
20 year LAA FA here...
First off, I agree with several of you in saying "Leave, if you're not happy." I have no argument for that. I will say though, the majority of my co-workers are nice people and do their job. I've worked with people who aren't and don't, but those are exceptions. I know many on blogs would probably disagree with that, but I believe that if you experience so much of it,...
20 year LAA FA here...
First off, I agree with several of you in saying "Leave, if you're not happy." I have no argument for that. I will say though, the majority of my co-workers are nice people and do their job. I've worked with people who aren't and don't, but those are exceptions. I know many on blogs would probably disagree with that, but I believe that if you experience so much of it, it's probably you and not them, and that would apply to those bad apples I work with (it's them and not the passenger).
LAA and LUS crews don't work side by side yet, so I can't judge them on that, nor would I. Our worst does not represent LAA and theirs does not represent LUS.
In regard to the point that Lucky brought up (the letter from LAA FA)... I was a yes voter. I wasn't opposed to voting no. I get why people voted no and I would agree to many reasons why to vote no. I just felt at the time, we weren't going to be better off if we did. Majority voted no and we were forced to take the contract as if the vote had gone to yes. That's not a good thing. What's the point of voting?! It may have gone the way I was voting, despite my reluctance to vote yes, but it's not what the majority voted for. Some of the issues that no voters were concerned with (and me too) are still unresolved because we aren't combined and we're how many years into this contract... 4? Despite all of that, I don't think it's an overall issue hanging over us.
Personally speaking, I don't think everything Doug has done is bad. I think he makes bad decisions based on text book vs real life. This is a man who decided to pull out the power ports on LUS aircraft. A man who tried to charge passengers for water. He's running AA now and still hasn't, after all these years, decided to put personal IFE on LAA 767's and 757's, despite not having a timeline of getting rid of them. He decided to take out ALL IFE on existing aircraft (execpt widebody and A321T's). While LAA was seeing some improvements to service under Tom, we've now seen them disappear. What troubles me the most, is he's decided to cram more seats onto planes that are already crammed with seats. I get why those look good to him sitting in his office. Real life is not life in that office.
Those are just a few of the things off the top of my head. Now, I come to work in full uniform regulation and I do my job. I'm nice. Now, I don't put up with BS, but I'm nice. :) I did all those things when we took pay cuts. That's just who I am. I'm not unhappy. Most of my coworkers are not unhappy. Those that are are the most vocal and we want them gone just as much as you do. Don't believe those few from either side, LAA or LUS, to represent the majority. I assure you, it's the same small group complaining. Regardless of what Doug Parker says or does, it does not reflect how I do my job or control my happiness and I can bet most of my coworkers would agree.
*sidenote, most of my coworkers drive me crazy, talking about the kids, their cats, or their commutes, so if it's sounds like I'm being biased, I'm not :-D
I don't get it, the executive is a terrible person, so take it out on the customers? I'm not sure I get the connection.
@Ryan, you bring back those memories of the AA pilots activity. Like you I sat on May flights delayed because of “Seat problems”.
"@TK – could not agree more. If you’re unhappy in your job, MOVE ON!! Yes, it really is that simple."
You'd think we don't have free labor markets in the US. I never have and never will understand people, in any industry, who stay with a company they don't like, a company with bad management, etc. or even a good company in a crappy industry.
Tidy up the resume, practice interview questions, and as you say MOVE ON for the love of God!
ehs - Could not agree more. Especially crankier passengers in smaller spaces. I am just saying, Doug Parker is not helping the situation, only hurts it. I also think Doug Parker is bad for the brand and the culture. He does not have a good understanding of what branding is. Here are some quotes
"It does not matter what our planes look like" - FALSE - Planes are flying billboards - we all know...
ehs - Could not agree more. Especially crankier passengers in smaller spaces. I am just saying, Doug Parker is not helping the situation, only hurts it. I also think Doug Parker is bad for the brand and the culture. He does not have a good understanding of what branding is. Here are some quotes
"It does not matter what our planes look like" - FALSE - Planes are flying billboards - we all know this. Im sure Apple would say the same about their logo being on their computers lol.
"TV screens do not bring in new consumers" - FALSE - It is how JetBlue made its impact.
And many more items he believes do not matter. He waters down the brand hence the morale.
I have a friend who has been a FA with AA (via PSA and USAir mergers) since 1973. She told me of this situation at the time and mentioned the loss of pension, retirement health benefits and profit sharing as the key reasons for bad morale. One other factor for her is that she is now forced to work until the age of 70 (at least) because of the loss of these benefits. Can’t blame them for their anger with management.
Unionization causes a grievance culture that becomes all consuming means workers lose a sense of perspective
Boy would I love to have unlimited positive-space F travel even just for me...My family can fly with Spirit for all I care :)
Actually TK/CJS/Ryan - there are not lots of people lining up for jobs nowadays. Last time I checked the unemployment rate is ~4%, pretty much full employment. Being a FA is a pretty sucky job that takes many years to get any schedule consistency and to barely bring home $50-$60K. I consider the gig to be not much better than being a truck driver.
IMO, the whole Doug Parker thing is a red herring. The...
Actually TK/CJS/Ryan - there are not lots of people lining up for jobs nowadays. Last time I checked the unemployment rate is ~4%, pretty much full employment. Being a FA is a pretty sucky job that takes many years to get any schedule consistency and to barely bring home $50-$60K. I consider the gig to be not much better than being a truck driver.
IMO, the whole Doug Parker thing is a red herring. The reason that service has declined is because the planes are packed to gills, the large operational push cutting turn times (puts more stress on the crews), paired with the customer base being cranky due to being nickeled and dimed and stuffed into smaller and smaller spaces.
btw... Doug Parker is or was a drunk... not sure if anyone remembers but this guy has had multiple DUI's. I never understood how this is acceptable considering many employers will not even hire front line employees who have had DUI's. Its a underlying issue of ..Will someone obey the law and not act reckless...or not? Now I know there are many out there who have gotten one.. but 2?!
Unions were formed to combat dangerous/poor working conditions or exploitative pay. I hear nothing like that in the flight attendants "explanation" of poor service.
I don't mean to totally discount shady management dealings, but that alone is not a good enough excuse for an airline employee to subject me to a curt, grumpy, phone-it-in attitude. Where is the pride in work?
Are unionized workers ever happy? For that matter are any employees usually happy? Would they be more excited to work if they had a different CEO? I doubt it.
@TK - could not agree more. If you're unhappy in your job, MOVE ON!! Yes, it really is that simple.
I agree with TK. None of this is any excuse for poor service. I remember what the American pilots did when they were not happy... they made the customers pay for it by delaying flights. American Airlines workforce has always been like this. Everyone is in the wrong here but Doug Parker is still the worst to be heading things up. Things will only get worse under him, not better.
Who cares? Do your job and do it well or get out of the way. There are plenty of people who want to work hard and provide superior customer service. This is one of the reasons people hate unions. Protecting mediocrity because they didn’t get what they want.
Look at how Doug Parker made this merger happen. He is a slimy, shady guy. Not that other airline CEOs are any different but Doug is the worst of the worst. He is actually worse than Smisek. Did you see the MASSIVE campaign Delta put out to keep US Airways out of their business in the late 2000s? Parker tricked the Unions into the merger. Who knows what he paid who? Employees did not like...
Look at how Doug Parker made this merger happen. He is a slimy, shady guy. Not that other airline CEOs are any different but Doug is the worst of the worst. He is actually worse than Smisek. Did you see the MASSIVE campaign Delta put out to keep US Airways out of their business in the late 2000s? Parker tricked the Unions into the merger. Who knows what he paid who? Employees did not like Tom Horton but I cannot see how he is any worse than Parker and at-least he cared about the product . American under Horton would still have Rubin running Aadvantage and American would have a VERY consistent product that would be competitive to Delta with a better loyalty program. Instead Parker created an airline designed to pad the pockets of very few people. Im sure its a miserable place to be on the front line, we know its very bad from a customer perspective.
Somewhat off topic, but also kind of related, I used to be a Northwest frequent flyer. After they merged with Delta, for quite a few years, I could very predictably pick out the ex-Northwest flight attendants. Their mannerisms were completely different with a very strong midwestern work ethic. Also Delta crews had some persistent problems that only a minority person like me could spot. To give a simple example, I got totally used to Delta...
Somewhat off topic, but also kind of related, I used to be a Northwest frequent flyer. After they merged with Delta, for quite a few years, I could very predictably pick out the ex-Northwest flight attendants. Their mannerisms were completely different with a very strong midwestern work ethic. Also Delta crews had some persistent problems that only a minority person like me could spot. To give a simple example, I got totally used to Delta FAs having a spirited conversation with all the passengers around me, but totally ignoring me as if I didn't exist. Now, I happen to be a social scientist and a university professor, so I tended to give them the benefit of the doubt that perhaps it was just fear of not understanding me or something like that. But ex-Northwest FAs never seemed to have that issue. Now though, I have to give credit where credit is due, Delta's inflight service have improved quite significantly. The difference in service between ex-Delta and ex-NWA FAs is not noticeable any longer, at least not to me. So whatever they have done internally, it seems to have worked well.
I think this is a compelling reason why FAs might be upset with their company. It all feels moot, however. The original story was about how the service on American Airlines as been dismal lately. I presume this FA was making the point that service is bad because FAs are upset at Doug Parker (for legitimate reasons). Unfortunately, poor service isn't going to have any sort of negative financial repercussions for those at the top....
I think this is a compelling reason why FAs might be upset with their company. It all feels moot, however. The original story was about how the service on American Airlines as been dismal lately. I presume this FA was making the point that service is bad because FAs are upset at Doug Parker (for legitimate reasons). Unfortunately, poor service isn't going to have any sort of negative financial repercussions for those at the top. I think a majority of the public sees airlines' decline in service as an inevitable situation. People still travel. People still purchase flights based on price/availability. All poor service does is anger EXPs like many on this blog and increase air rage to the point that it endangers people (AKA FAs who have to deal with it).
I guess to bottom line it this seems to be a problem without a solution. I would implore FAs to do something that actually can lead to change or to do their jobs.
Their claim about losing retiree health benefits, pension, work rules, etc is empty because American Airlines wasn't in bankruptcy. All of that was going to be shed regardless yet they chose to blame their union leader for having a cordial conversation with Doug versus appearing to fight with him.
Let's not forget about how TWA crews were integrated into the system either. It could have certainly been much worse.
So the union is upset that the union is corrupt? And it's AA's fault? And the customers are the ones who ultimately suffer for it? Talk about misdirected outrage.
As an EP passenger I have a large sample size and in my experience you can feel the tension and frustration on AA compared with the other legacy carrier. I have a few close AA friends who are from the US Air side of the merger and they are no happier.
I would say the situation is more nuanced than the F/As assert about each other. On LUS, I've noticed the F/As have gotten a little bit worse since the merger. Pre-merger, I never had a bad experience; post-merger, I've been getting some frowning and slow-moving F/As. Assuming this has something to do with overall morale being low.
On LAA, I've noticed the F/As have also gotten a little bit worse, though there were some...
I would say the situation is more nuanced than the F/As assert about each other. On LUS, I've noticed the F/As have gotten a little bit worse since the merger. Pre-merger, I never had a bad experience; post-merger, I've been getting some frowning and slow-moving F/As. Assuming this has something to do with overall morale being low.
On LAA, I've noticed the F/As have also gotten a little bit worse, though there were some bad ones pre-merger as well. Though, I've always had good F/As out of LAX and DFW on LAA, so maybe those cultures are in better shape?
Point being, I think F/As have gotten worse systemwide. Probably something to do with Parker, but probably also a lot to do with an airline that lacks a vision. Also, terrible, cheap uniforms that cause skin problems.
It’s all just noise. The flight attendants agreed with Parker before the merger. Many were raving about the great deal that was struck. Later, they voted it down and we’re stuck with what they have now. The unions or what has made a complete mess of the airline industry. Just ask any unionized employee if they love their job. Best cult EVER.
And AAirpass certainly WAS sold with an F option.
I covered this a couple of years ago. Glading got her members huge raises, and they complain about process.
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2015/11/02/american-flight-attendants-have-retained-a-lawyer-calling-for-doj-investigation-over-their-big-raises/
I've flown AA a number of times in the past year (virtually all of those flights would have been legacy AA crews as the routes were (LGA-CMH-LGA, LGA-ORD-LGA, JFK-EZE, JFK-BCN-JFK, JFK-LHR-JFK, and JFK-LAX-JFK) and found the flight attendants to be generally pleasant, efficient, and performed their duties with a smile. I wouldn't necessarily call any of them lazy, though service on a US carrier is generally hit and miss and almost never done with any...
I've flown AA a number of times in the past year (virtually all of those flights would have been legacy AA crews as the routes were (LGA-CMH-LGA, LGA-ORD-LGA, JFK-EZE, JFK-BCN-JFK, JFK-LHR-JFK, and JFK-LAX-JFK) and found the flight attendants to be generally pleasant, efficient, and performed their duties with a smile. I wouldn't necessarily call any of them lazy, though service on a US carrier is generally hit and miss and almost never done with any evidence of a true culture of service.
I have to agree with the PMUS FAs. PMAA FAs are generally lazy.
No surprise. We need a special prison for executives.
It’s a little early in the morning for popcorn but the comments on this one should be fascinating if they stay on topic and you hear from company insiders. It would make it easier to tolerate lousy customer service if I knew they had a chip on their shoulders for a legitimate reason.