The union representing flight attendants at United Airlines is against the return of pre-departure beverages in premium cabins.
The United Airlines Flight Attendant Union does not have pre-Departure beverages.
Pre-departure beverages and glassware will return onboard on November 23rd and December 1st, according to the bulletin to flight attendants.
The AFA notes that it was not warned in advance that pre-departure beverages would return so quickly.
Inflight told Flight Attendants through a Catering Alert that welcome beverages will be available in the Premium Cabin on all mainline flights on November 23.
That is something that stands out to me. If there is some indignation that the AFA was not consulted prior to this move, why include that additional information?
The AFA asserts that this move is not about being lazy.
This is not about Flight Attendants not wanting to offer this service to passengers on the aircraft, we want to say upfront. Flight Attendants at United Airlines want to return to a sense of normal on the aircraft sooner rather than later.
Flight attendants want to return to a sense of normal on the aircraft sooner rather than later.
The AFA points out two novel reasons for why pre-departure beverages should not return at this time.
In August of this year, testing of the procedures to return the beverage to the cabin took place on two routes out of SFO. We raised our concern to management over the return of this service because we were concerned that Flight Attendants would be placed in close proximity to passengers and their baggage in our effort to deliver this service.
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The visual that will be created for other boarding passengers as they walk on the aircraft sees those in the premium cabins without masks on.
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We are concerned that this will present additional challenges for Flight Attendants in order to gain compliance with the federal mask mandate.
I think both of the reasons are reasonable. Flight attendants darting in and out of the aisles can cause congestion and lead to closer interaction with passengers waiting to get to their seat.
As other passengers walk by, the visual of passengers sitting and drinking beverages can send the wrong message to other passengers.
I don't dismiss these concerns. I have not seen a persuasive analysis or study that shows the risk of serving beverages. Other airlines are able to offer these without having to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. The AFA concerns are valid in theory, but may not be in reality.
The AFA seems to be resigned to the change despite the memo. It wants flight attendants to be more aggressive in reporting alcohol related issues since management is now taking a data driven approach.
Management uses data to justify their decisions, and it is absolutely critical that we continue to report any issues we see. It is not a problem if it is not documented, and from management's perspective, it does not exist.
That is fair. Even though United has taken a more hands-off approach to mask enforcement, flight attendants should still record every incident of onboard misbehavior.
Conclusions.
The union lays out two reasonable reasons for not offering pre-departure beverages at this time, but the fact that the AFA begins the note by saying this is not about being lazy doesn't strike me as the most powerful rhetorical tool. I think United is making the right move in bringing back pre-departure beverage offerings.
I have spoken to many flight attendants about the return of glassware and PDBs and every one of them expressed excitement about their return. Is the union out of touch with what its members want?
The image is of United Airlines.
