Flight attendants at American Airlines based in Fort Worth, Texas have officially ratified a new contract, bringing an end to a prolonged dispute that drew attention from President Joe Biden when cabin crews threatened to strike. The Association of Professional Flight Attendants announced that the five-year agreement includes significant pay raises of up to 20.5% starting on October 1, along with compensation for time spent during passenger boarding.
Historically, flight attendants in the U.S. have not been paid for boarding time, but Delta Air Lines took a step in 2022 by offering 50% pay during boarding to its nonunion cabin crews, setting a new standard that put pressure on unions to negotiate similar benefits for their members. The newly approved contract will cover approximately 28,000 American Airlines attendants, with 87% of voting members supporting ratification and 95% of eligible employees participating in the vote.
This agreement comes after American Airlines and the union announced a tentative deal back in July. The flight attendants, who had not seen a salary increase since 2019, had previously considered striking, but did not receive approval from the National Mediation Board, which must declare negotiations at an impasse before unions can proceed with a strike. The last strike at a U.S. airline occurred in 2010 at Spirit Airlines.
Last year, the flight attendants turned down an offer that included an immediate 18% pay raise followed by yearly 2% increases, as the union pushed for an initial 33% raise followed by four annual hikes of 6% each. The recent agreement at American Airlines mirrors a similar deal at Southwest Airlines, where flight attendants approved a contract in April that will see cumulative pay raises of approximately 33% over four years. Meanwhile, United flight attendants are still in negotiations, and Delta’s nonunion cabin crews received 5% pay raises earlier in the year.