As reported by @xJonNYC, American Airways is accusing a few of its flight attendants of attempting to revenue off of rolling delays, and is asking it theft. I’m certain it will ruffle some feathers amongst flight attendants, particularly given the tense contract negotiations occurring.
How American flight attendants are profiting off of delayed flights
Flight attendants have a fancy system via which they will bid on journeys, primarily based on quite a lot of elements, and that determines their schedules. Along with their customary month-to-month bidding on journeys, flight attendants can decide up journeys on the final minute for additional pay, assuming it doesn’t intrude with any journeys they have already got on their schedule. They at all times want a minimal quantity of relaxation between journeys, sometimes no less than 10 hours.
American is accusing flight attendants of deliberately choosing up journeys that they haven’t any intention of flying, with a view to get extra pay, and the corporate is asking it theft. Based on American:
- Flight attendants are bidding on the final minute to work flights which have rolling delays, whereby the flight attendants already know {that a} flight is delayed, whether or not it’s resulting from climate, upkeep, and many others.; it’s frequent for there to be final minute journeys accessible, because it might be {that a} crew timed out when there’s a serious delay
- Flight attendants are deliberately bidding on these flights after they have one other journey of their schedule within the close to future, in order that they’d barely have sufficient relaxation (however as of the time that they bid on the journey, they do have sufficient relaxation primarily based on the scheduled departure time)
- In conditions the place the delay continues to be prolonged, flight attendants then can’t work their subsequent journey, however they nonetheless receives a commission for it, for the reason that contract incorporates a pay safety for that
Simply to present an instance (I’m completely making this up), let’s say {that a} flight attendant is scheduled to work a visit beginning at 6AM tomorrow, from Miami to Los Angeles. Flight attendants want no less than 10 hours of relaxation between flights. So let’s say a flight attendant picks up a fast Miami to Tampa to Miami flip on the final minute for tonight, however it’s clear that the flight shall be delayed (for the reason that inbound plane is hours late, or there’s a upkeep difficulty, or there’s a thunderstorm).
In the event that they picked up that journey and flew it however returned after 8PM (10 hours earlier than 6AM), they wouldn’t be capable of fly the journey the next day, however they’d nonetheless receives a commission for each journeys.
American threatens flight attendants for this habits
American states that crew scheduling seniors are actually inspecting every final minute journey decide up that has resulted in pay safety, to find out whether or not flight attendants deliberately manufactured an “unlawful” sequence with a view to get pay for the journey.
The corporate will look at when the journey was picked up by the flight attendant, when the delay started, and what the crew knew and when. The corporate’s place is that simply because the delay hasn’t been up to date, doesn’t imply the crew was unaware of the inevitable. The corporate considers this to be theft, and is threatening to remove pay, name flight attendants into their supervisor’s workplace, and probably take different disciplinary motion.
The corporate is now encouraging flight attendants to solely decide up journeys that they’re assured that they will legally fly, and flight attendants must justify their choice with “factual knowledge” in the event that they get pay safety.
That is fairly a risk in opposition to flight attendants…
Many people passengers can attest to how irritating American’s rolling flight delays are, and what a foul job the airline sometimes does with protecting individuals up to date with delays. So indirectly, I’ve to respect the hustle of some flight attendants for benefiting from American’s poor communication throughout delays.
Now, I can’t assist however suppose that that is extra of a baseless risk than the rest, although I actually might be flawed:
- Is that this actually such a widespread drawback that it’s value addressing on this means? Does American have so many final minute journeys accessible the place there’s already a rolling delay, and flight attendants have upcoming journeys with minimal relaxation?
- It appears sort of difficult for American to show intent right here
- If that is such an enormous drawback, why doesn’t American replace its software program to not let flight attendants bid on these sorts of journeys? It looks as if American ought to be deciding how reasonable it’s for a flight attendant to bid on a visit with out lacking their subsequent journey, reasonably than leaving it to the person flight attendant
- Flight attendant morale at American is at an all-time low, as flight attendants are nonetheless ready on a brand new contract; is the airline attempting to make labor relations even worse?
I think that is primarily about attempting to make flight attendants scared about this habits going ahead, however I suppose we’ll see…
Backside line
American is accusing some flight attendants of theft, after bidding on final minute journeys with rolling delays. The airline claims that some flight attendants have deliberately picked up final minute journeys shortly earlier than different journeys, in conditions the place they knew the flight could be delayed. This triggered pay safety, that means flight attendants could be paid for each journeys.
What do you make of American’s risk to flight attendants?
