FOCUS-US airline flight crews confident and angry as unions seek richer contracts

By Rajesh Kumar Singh

CHICAGO, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Alaska Airlines ALK.N flight attendant Rebecca Owens works 10 hours a day but only gets paid for half that time - a legacy of a common U.S. airline policy to pay cabin crew members only when planes are in motion. Owens, and thousands of cabin crew like her, wants that to change.

In August, 68% of Alaska flight attendants in a ratification vote rejected a contract that would have increased average pay by 32% over three years. It was also the first labor agreement that would have legally required airlines to start the clock for paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding, not when the flight starts to taxi down the runway.

Delta Air Lines DAL.N, the only major U.S. airline whose flight attendants are not in a union, instituted boarding pay for its flight attendants at half of their hourly wages in 2022 when they were trying to organize.

Alaska and union leaders have resumed federally mediated contract negotiations this week.

"I want to be compensated for my time at work and want a livable wage so that you can stand on your own while working this job," said Owens, 35. She said that without her husband's income, her family would not be able to afford basic needs.

Negotiations at Alaska are being closely watched because one airline's contract tends to become an industry benchmark. Cabin crews at United Airlines UAL.O, Frontier ULCC.O and American Airlines' AAL.O regional subsidiary PSA Airlines are also negotiating new labor agreements.

Crews at Southwest Airlines LUV.N rejected two contract offers before ratifying a deal in April that included a 22% pay raise this year and 3% per year raises through 2027.

Flight attendants have been negotiating with more confidence this year, encouraged by improved airline earnings and bumper pay deals negotiated by pilot unions in the past two years and Boeing factory workers this year, according to interviews with a dozen airline crew and union officials.

Plane crew told Reuters these negotiations are also informed by years of resentment over pay that has lagged inflation while working hours have increased, hurting their quality of life.

Cabin crew at Alaska and United have authorized their unions to call strikes if negotiators cannot reach a contract agreement.

Alaska Airlines responded to a question from Reuters saying its goal is to provide "flight attendants – and all employees – with market-competitive wages and benefits."

United did not respond to a request for comment.

BURN OUT

In previous contract negotiations, airlines secured concessions from workers as the industry was struggling due to economic downturns or fallout from the COVID pandemic.

However, this year, many U.S. airlines have posted healthy profits and cabin crews feel they have more than earned a bigger slice of that pie.

United's cabin crews have not had a raise since 2020. The Chicago-based airline in October unveiled a $1.5 billion stock buyback plan. "Flight attendants are really, really angry," said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA $(AFA.AU)$, which represents over 50,000 cabin crew at 20 airlines including Alaska and United.

"They can't afford to pay their bills."

Some new hires are forced to live in their cars because they cannot afford rent, said Ken Diaz, head of the flight attendants' union at United.

A starting salary at United is $28.88 an hour. At Alaska, the base pay rate for a newly hired flight attendant is $27.69.

High on the priority list for attendants is being paid for hours worked, not just when the aircraft is in motion. One San Francisco-based United flight attendant told Reuters he makes just $2,400-$2,500 a month before taxes despite working over 200 hours. A number of his colleagues supplement their income by driving for Uber and DoorDash, he said.

A flight attendant who was onboard Alaska's Boeing 737 MAX plane that lost its door panel mid-air in January had a second job as an Amazon delivery driver, according to testimony released by investigators. The flight attendant, who was not named, had worked two package-delivery shifts the day of the door blowout.

Some airlines blanch at the added costs of paying flight crews for tasks like boarding passengers and waiting around the airport before and between flights. The union at American has estimated that crews will earn an extra $4.2 billion under its new five-year flight attendant contract, which includes retroactive as well as boarding pay, and compensation for some hours between flights.

Owen says airlines need to rethink their strategy or face an increasingly hostile reaction from crew members.

"People can only take so much," Owens said. "They are tired. They are burnt out."

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Joe Brock and David Gregorio)

((rajeshkumar.singh@thomsonreuters.com; +1-313-484-5370; Reuters Messaging: rajeshkumar.singh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))