FORT WORTH, Texas: American Airlines flight attendants have ratified a new five-year contract, securing significant pay raises and ending months of tension that included threats of a strike.
The agreement covers about 28,000 flight attendants and includes a 20.5 percent pay increase starting on October 1, followed by annual raises of up to 3.5 percent over the next four years.
For the first time, American’s flight attendants will also be paid for the time passengers spend boarding planes. Delta Air Lines introduced this benefit for its nonunion cabin crews in 2022, putting pressure on unions to secure the same for their members.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) reported that 87 percent of members who voted favored the deal, with a 95 percent voter turnout. This agreement follows a contract reached with American’s pilots last year and was a priority for CEO Robert Isom.
The contract’s approval comes after flight attendants, who had not received raises since 2019, threatened to strike. Although the union did not receive the necessary approval from the National Mediation Board to initiate a strike, the threat drew attention from President Joe Biden, who warned in July that such an action would have been “devastating” for the airline industry and consumers.
The deal at American follows a similar agreement at Southwest Airlines, where flight attendants ratified a contract earlier this year with cumulative pay raises of 33 percent over four years.
Meanwhile, United Airlines flight attendants are still negotiating, and Delta’s nonunion cabin crews received a five percent raise in April.