A senior American Airlines flight attendant had plenty to say about the state of the airline, labor relations, management, and the near future of the airline.
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The off-the-record conversation I heard was between a senior American Airlines flight attendant and a person I didn't know. The FA's statements are notverifiable and are simply their opinion. I find it important to listen to people talk about their experiences, even if their feelings are not based on fact.
The first half of the FA's tenure was with US Airways. For a long time, they were used to the management at the carrier.
The flight attendant has serious questions about the American Airlines management team and their ability to deal with the current influx of challenges.
“No one knows where anyone is at.”
There are situations where management doesn't know where staff members are, but in this case, flight crew members. The struggle to update flight times, delays, and cancelations is a problem that plagued American Airlines before the Pandemic but is now amplified. My travel agency gets a head start on replacing canceled flights because our technology knows when the American Airlines app will be updated.
“I don’t know how much longer it can go on.”
The flight attendant was looking for a solution to the problem.
“New boss, same as the old boss.”
In a magnified environment given the outside pressures on airline performance, the current management with Isom at the helm seems to have the same challenges. The flight attendant was not confident in the competency of the management of the airline.
The flight attendant was angry about the shortage of pilots.
“They’ve known about this problem for twenty years [and did nothing.]”
It isn't just American Airlines for this. The industry saw the slow moving freight train for a long time and didn't do anything to correct it.
Airlines that started their own flight schools to bring pilots on board with their own systems in place, help with tuition, and get more pilots flying are some examples. The critics would have to look at the size of graduating classes that didn't offer an effective replacement for retiring flight crews, and the expansion and growth plans airlines clearly laid out for investors. Prior to the Pandemic, less than 100 new first officers had graduated from JetBlue. The problem was so big and the results so small that it left JetBlue desperately trying to buy Spirit as they are now for access to more pilots.
The airline lobbies have been asking for restrictions against foreign airlines that are subsidized by their governments for a long time. It's not addressing the mandatory retirement age, asking for waivers or changes to the required flight hours, or even paying those brand new First Officers a living wage, especially in light of their enormous student loan debt. According to Skift, some First Officers were making less than $25,000 a year.
“For a first-year co-pilot at Republic Airlines, for example, that translates into gross weekly pay of a mere $495 per week.
For a pilot with 10 years’ experience at SkyWest, the weekly gross paycheck might be around $1,312.”
“Although they may only be on the clock 21.5 hours per week or 85 hours per month,” pilots typically are away from base, and from their families, about 240 to 300 hours per month (or about 60 to 75 hours a week),” according to the Airline Pilots Association.
For the lowest paid co-pilot on Mesa Airlines earning about $22 per hour, this imbalance works out to $6.80 an hour for a 60-hour work week.” – Skift
Fast food workers were the majority in pushing for a $15 minimum wage that is still not a nationwide standard. A pilot with student loan debt makes less than a burger-flipper to fly you and your family to your destination. The right seat of the aircraft is flown by someone making a clearly unsustainably low wage, and that is why there is a pilot shortage today.
“It’s not just a pilot issue. So many aren’t coming back. [New flight attendants] too.”
Is the current state of flying frustrating you? People are leaving the crew. The way this flight attendant phrased it seemed to suggest that we haven't seen the wave of departures that are coming, but that they are. The Great Resignation may soon extend to the airline industry as it is a tough time to fly for passengers and crew.
The flight attendant is very loyal to the carrier and was dismayed at the state of operations. They don't know what's going on at the airline matches the customer experience. The communications of delays and canceled flights is a representation of how true this is. There is a growing resentment from flight attendants and other staff members that is not being given the billing it might otherwise command due to the pilot shortage issue. It's not clear if the employee is right about employees moving away from the business.
Do you agree? Are the flight attendant's comments relevant to you?
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