What was once the glamorous and exciting job of flight attendant today has no such desirability. Flight attendants not only have to contend with overcrowding and unruly passengers, now we find out that they are also paid badly.
An employment verification letter issued by American Airlines to some newly hired flight attendants brought this to light when it caused controversy on Reddit for its documentation of just how low the wages are.
The letter reads that a new American Airlines flight attendant will have a “projected annual salary [of] $27,315 per year before incentives and taxes” and concludes, “Any courtesy you can provide would be appreciated.”
In comparison to the starting $27,000 salary of a flight attendant, Robert Isom, the CEO of American Airlines, earned $31.4 million last year, which is 1,162 times more.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual wage for flight attendants in 2023 was $71,000.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which is the union representing American Airlines workers, verified the information in the letter, which is also given to potential landlords or used for other services where attendants would need to verify their employment and income.
The union supports 28,000 American Airline attendants, and is currently in the process of working on their first renewed contract in five years. This deal reportedly dates back to before the pandemic and the issue of inflation rates rising.
“We have flight attendants who are sleeping in their cars,” APFA communications director Paul Hartshorn reported to CNN.
According to the APFA, flight attendants’ low wages compared to Isom’s and other executive’s salaries is a prime example of “corporate greed.”
American Airlines attendants have not received a raise since 2019, and now the union is doubling down in its advocacy for a new contract to increase workers’ incomes.
APFA is proposing a 33% pay increase to top out at $91 an hour during the first year of a new contract and increases of 5%, 4%, and 4% for the remaining years of a four-year agreement. The union is also calling for full retroactive pay raises based on how much attendants flew during the five years of negotiations.
Under federal law, known as the Railway Labor Act, flight attendants cannot go on strike without permission from the government, but the union is calling on President Biden and congressional leaders to urge the National Mediation Board to allow the APFA to possibly pursue a strike.
American Airlines has not yet addressed the salaries recorded in the letter or the union’s drafted contracts and movements towards potentially protesting the company.
