Flight Attendant News

Flight attendants at ATA Airlines have approved a new three-year contract.

The new agreement extends wage, benefit and work-rule concessions that were ratified last October.

The agreement is another step toward "strengthening the airline's financial position as we edge ever closer to successful emergence from Chapter 11," ATA Chief Executive John Denison said in a statement.

The contract, which covers about 1,000 flight attendants, will become effective Jan. 1.

ATA, based in Indiannapolis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October of 2004, and is expected to emerge from bankruptcy early next year.

South African Airways announced improved working conditions for its flight attendants, with approval from the Ministry of Labour.

According to an article in the Sunday Times (South Africa):

The three-year variation agreement with unions representing cabin crew and ground handling staff regulates working hours and rest periods. SAA also indicated to unions that during the 2006 wage negotiations it would seek to enter into a multi-year wage agreement and move away from annual talks.

The agreements include improved rest periods for cabin crew flying long haul routes, improved meal allowances for cabin staff and more flexible working hours.

Flight attendants in Canada are speaking out against their federal government's plan to reduce the ratio of cabin crew to passengers on Canadian commercial aircraft.

The Toronto Star reports that the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents Air Canada's flight attendants, is launching an advertising campaign to alert the traveling public that the plan could compromise safety. They cite the recent Air France accident at Toronto as an example of why a higher flight attendant to passenger ratio is beneficial:

"A full crew of 10 highly trained and fast acting flight attendants saved everyone on Air France Flight 358 after it crashed in Toronto this summer," the ad says. "Even though flight attendants are safety professionals who save lives, Ottawa is poised to cut the required minimum number of flight attendants by up to 25 per cent.

"With fewer hands on deck, do you like these odds?"

In response to the advertising campaign, a spokesperson for Transport Canada is quoted as saying, "The union is just trying to keep jobs."

Currently, Canadian law requires airlines to have one flight attendant on board for every 40 passengers. Transport Canada is considering a move to change that ratio to one attendant for every 50 passengers, although the ratio differs for different types of aircraft.

The flight attendants argue that they are the safety professionals who save lives in the event of an emergency evacuation.

...there were 10 flight attendants on board the doomed Air France Airbus 340 for 297 passengers, which represented a one to 30 ratio, exceeding the French requirement. "Only eight flight attendants would be required on a Canadian carrier under the proposed Transport Canada rules on such wide body aircraft."

U.S. law essentially requires one flight attendant for every 50 seats on a commercial aircraft. The proposed change in the requirement for Canada would parallel that of the U.S.

The media image of flight attendants usually is distorted, so it's refreshing to read an article in the press that paints a more accurate picture.

An article from the Copley News Service syndicate, and published in the Jamaica Observer announces in its title that Glamour is gone in the flight attendant's world.

Do you ever wonder why more and more flight attendants on most US airlines look like the walking wounded instead of the charming ambassadors and concierges of the skies that we used to know in the good old days of flying?

How would you like to work for up to 14 hours - after sleeping four to five hours the night before - and pamper hundreds of hungry, harried and hassled total strangers squeezed into tight seats, or deal with self-anointed prima donnas, who want first-class pampering for their $50 coach-class ticket? And then have your pay cut, benefits chopped, pension possibly jettisoned and maybe lose your job?

Sound familiar to any of you airline flight attendants out there?

The article goes on to discuss longer work hours and reduced rest time - a situation I wrote about elsewhere more than six months ago.

The article also mentions other contentious issues such as reductions in pay and benefits, and potential outsourcing of flight attendant jobs.

Continental Airlines has announced in a press release that talks with its flight attendants had adjourned without an agreement being reached.

The chairman of the National Mediation Board (NMB) joined the talks on Tuesday, Nov. 15. The issues have been narrowed to a few remaining items.

A final bargaining session has been scheduled for Dec. 7 and 8 in the offices of the NMB in Washington, D.C. If no agreement is reached on those dates, the NMB has stated that it will consider releasing the parties from mediation into a 30-day cooling off period. At the end of that period, the company would be able to implement needed wage and benefit reductions, and the flight attendants would be able to strike.

Continental's flight attendants are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers(IAM). The union issued a similar announcement.

A man who became unruly aboard a Southwest Airlines flight earlier this year has been sentenced to prison for his offense.

The man, Edward Dee, pleaded guilty to Federal charges of interfering with a flight crew and making threats involving air travel.

Dee was aboard a Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago to Seattle on April 9 when authorities said he became angry after a flight attendant refused to serve him a third vodka.

Flight attendants notified the pilot that Dee had become unruly, had threatened a flight attendant and was demanding the plane return to Chicago.

Flight attendants restrained Dee in handcuffs after he reached around a seat and grabbed a female passenger by the neck, authorities said.

The plane was diverted to Great Falls, MT and Dee was arrested there by FBI agents.

In addition to the prison sentence, Dee also was ordered to pay restitution of more that $1,500 to Southwest.

With more than eight applications in hand for every job opening, UAL has suspended its recruitment of new flight attendants.

"The strong response to these positions with United underscores the progress the company has made," said Jane Allen, senior vice president of Onboard Service. "It shows people recognize United has a great future, and they want to be part of it."

United plans to hire 2,000 new flight attendants. The new-hires will be based in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Flight Attendants at Aloha Airlines have made another "sacrifice." According to an article in the Honolulu Advertiser, the Aloha flight attendants union has agreed that health benefits for future retirees would be eliminated, and that F/As will be required to contribute to their medical coverage:

The tentative agreement, if ratified by the members, does not call for additional pay cuts. Aloha's flight attendants already have taken two pay cuts of 10 percent each since January 2003.

"Once again the company is asking the flight attendants to make some major sacrifices after significant givebacks in the past," said Karen Nakaoka, vice president of the 400-member Aloha unit of the Association of Flight Attendants.

The union membership is expected to vote on ratification of this agreement later this month.

Aloha is also negotiating with its pilots. The company wants to cancel the pilots' pension plan and turn it over to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., in a move similar to that taken by United Airlines earlier this year.

The judge hearing the Aloha case urged the company and the pilots to continue negotiating.

Aloha hopes to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of this year.

Seeking to fill 2,000 new flight attendant jobs, United Airlines (UAL) began accepting applications on its website on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005. On that day, UAL received about 7,500 applications.

According to Sara Dela-Cruz, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants, the union that represents United's flight attendants:

...the high number of applications reflects the large number of airline workers who have lost jobs during the industry downturn.

"When you look around the country, there are people lining up for work everywhere," said Sara Dela-Cruz. Well-paid flight attendant jobs with strong union representation are hard to come by, she said.

UAL, which expects to emerge from bankruptcy early next year, already employs 15,000 flight attendants.

The Financial Times of London has published an article by Joe Studwell, editor of the China Economic Quarterly, that essentially reviews good and bad points about British Airways.

The article priases BA's cabin crews:

BA has very high quality cabin crew. Once on the plane, the service is hard to fault. The safety record is also first-class.

Thank you for noticing, Mr. Studwell.

United Airlines (UAL) has announced that it will begin recruiting 2,000 new flight attendants.

“We’re looking for people who have a passion for customer service as well as a commitment to safety,” said Jane Allen, senior vice president of Onboard Service. “Our flight attendants play a key role in shaping our customers’ travel experience, and we’re looking for men and women that can build on the successful work that our flight attendants do today."

The airline began accepting online applications on its website.