American Airlines says it wants to win more premium travelers, but its flight attendants union says the airline is replacing well-liked crew hotels across the system in ways that mean less rest and worse onboard service. This is not just a fight over layovers — it is a test of whether American can really deliver a better product while still cutting the conditions crews depend on to do the job.
The airline is trying to sell a premium comeback while reportedly now cutting the part of the product that its flight attendants say affects rest, safety, and service. They’re leaning on premium to close the revenue gap, after focusing too leaving on cost and posting much weaker financial results than peers. The CFO’s suite just can’t help itself ‘not spend a dollar more than they have to’, in the admonition of its CEO Robert Isom upon first assuming the role it seems.
A new memo from the American Airlines flight attendants union reveals that the airline is working to replace the hotels cabin crew stay in at “nearly every layover city” where stays are “well-liked” and “contractually compliant” despite their objections.
Despite APFA recommending renewal of incumbent hotels that meet our contractual standards, management is moving forward with hotels not recommended by APFA, and doing so without adhering to the mutual agreement process outlined in the CBA.
Already, the airline has doubled the number of hotel site visits to 8 a month in a push to replace its current layover hotels. The union suggests this is a cost-cutting move and in violation of their contract, bypassing the mutual-agreement process for hotel selection.
- The collective bargaining agreement says the Association of Professional Flight attendants and the airline are to review hotel suitability together, that the union gets the list of proposed hotels, can add properties, and the parties jointly inspect them.
- The union memo alleges that management is choosing non-recommended hotels without adhering to that process.
Section 6.A.2.c lays out the process for crew accommodations to be mutually agreeable. By selecting hotels against APFA recommendations and prioritizing management’s objectives over contractual standards, management is failing to uphold this requirement.
Crew hotel quality ties to rest and safety and next day readiness, which is part of both operational reliability and the possibility of good service on board. The contract with flight attendants specifies criteria of safety and security of transportation, room and hotel location, cleanliness, quietness, and adequacy of eating facilities.
During recent storms American Airlines flight attendants were sleeping on airport floors because the carrier had underinvested in its hotel booking capability, which has been a known problem during major operational events for years. Crews waited six to eleven hours to reach the teams responsible for reassignments, hotels, and transportation.
CEO Robert Isom acknowledged it while saying this ‘comes with the business’. Meanwhile COO David Seymour denied it ever happened.
Some are linking this to the flight attendants union calling for CEO Robert Isom’s ouster but it’s more in line with the airline’s continued cost-cutting – like closing airport customer service centers, cutting headquarters staff, and outsourcing IT – even as it seeks to attack its revenue problem with a pivot to premium.
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