Tag Archives: Flight Attendants

United Airlines’ flight attendants file for federal mediation

United Airlines‘ (Chicago) flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), have filed for federal mediation under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (NMB).

According to AFA, the filing was done “in order to bring three years of negotiations to a close and allow United to complete its merger with Continental/Continental Micronesia.”

AFA continued:

“A clear dispute exists and it is time for federal mediation. We are calling on management to negotiate a fair contract within the reality of record profits. Three years after the talks for a joint contract began, management doesn’t seemed focused on negotiating a contract Flight Attendants can ratify,” said AFA International President Sara Nelson. “The longterm success of United Airlines depends upon current executives finishing this merger, which includes negotiating a joint Flight Attendant contract, and making good on promises to employees, Capitol Hill and the traveling public.”

Mediation under the Railway Labor Act is a formal, statutorily prescribed process. The mediator directs the negotiations with statutory authority including time and place of meetings, subjects to be discussed in a given week and the general approach to negotiations. NMB mediation is not binding arbitration. The contract would only become effective by agreement of both parties and it would be subject to membership ratification. If mediation does not result in an agreement, the union may petition for a release, which would lead to a strike deadline. AFA is focused on reaching an agreement that Flight Attendants can ratify and which contributes to completing the operational integration of United Airlines.

Without a joint contract, Flight Attendants continue to work separately and on airplanes that are designated as pre-merger United, Continental or Continental Micronesia. This leads to inefficiencies for the airline and Flight Attendants, and these inefficiencies are often experienced by passengers as well. Negotiations updates are posted on OurContract.org and further explanation of mediation and the positions of the Union and Company may be found on this website.

“Management’s failure to participate in realistic merged contract negotiations seems to be a symptom of a larger problem for our airline. We are concerned that management is not focused on completing this merger or running United Airlines for longterm success. A three billion dollar share buy back and investment in a foreign airline without any attempt to invest in United’s frontline is troubling. Management needs to position United to compete with any airline in the world. That starts with negotiating fairly with the women and men who breathe life into the Friendly Skies,” Nelson stated.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-222 ER N793UA (msn 26946) approaches the runway at London (Heathrow).

United Airlines aircraft slide show:

Lufthansa to offer “restaurant service” in Business Class

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) has issued this statement about its new “Restaurant Service”:

From August onwards, passengers in the Lufthansa Business Class can look forward to a completely new service on board long-haul flights. The flight attendants will now adapt their service more strongly towards the rhythm of their passengers in order to individually respond to their guests’ needs and requests just like a top-class restaurant. After the flight attendants have welcomed ‘their’ guests on board in person and by name, they take their orders and set the table with ceramic crockery. Meals are then served directly from the galley. Trays and flight trolleys are replaced by service plates.

After the introductory flights in June and July on the Airbus A380 routes to New York (JFK) and Miami, the restaurant service will now be launched on the A380 services to Houston, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Miami, Delhi, New York (JFK), Beijing, San Francisco, Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore from 1st August onwards. The service will then be introduced on flights with the Boeing 747-400 and 747-8 from Frankfurt on October 1 and the Airbus A340 fleet from Frankfurt and Munich to Asia and the Middle East on October 25.

Special service training courses for around 4500 flight attendants have already been running since May this year. The around 130 flights on which the new concept has already been tested received an extremely positive response from Business Class guests. With its new restaurant service, Lufthansa is taking another important step towards becoming the first five-star airline in the Western hemisphere.

Photo: Lufthansa.

Lufthansa aircraft slide show:

Southwest’s flight attendants vote down the tentative agreement

Southwest Airlines‘ (Dallas) flight attendants have turned down the tentative contract by a large 87 percent margin. The airline issued this statement:

Southwest Airlines (LUV) has announced that its Flight Attendants have voted down a tentative agreement that would have ended two years of negotiations. Representatives for Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 556 say Flight Attendants rejected the deal by 87 percent of those casting ballots. Nearly 89 percent of eligible Flight Attendants voted.

“This agreement ensured that our Flight Attendants would stay atop the industry in pay and benefits,” said Randy Babbitt, Southwest Senior Vice President Labor Relations. “It improved the Company’s competitiveness with certain work-rule changes and supported our evolving network, both domestically and in international markets. So naturally we’re disappointed that it didn’t pass.”

The deal was slated to run through May 2019 and contained fixed wage increases, cash bonuses, and quality of life improvements. Southwest says it remains committed to reaching an agreement that best serves the interests of both the Company and its Flight Attendants.

“Knowing how volatile our industry can be, I can’t imagine a better time to secure an agreement,” said Vice President Cabin Services Mike Hafner. “But together we will find a way to move forward. Southwest Flight Attendants are the finest in the industry, and I am continuously proud of their consistent efforts and the caring service they provide our Customers.”

Southwest expects TWU leadership will take some time to evaluate the results prior to returning to direct bargaining. But for now, Southwest Flight Attendants will continue working under the terms of their current agreement, which became amendable May 31, 2013.

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-76N N7718B (msn 32665) approaches the runway at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI).

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show:

Southwest Airlines reaches a tentative agreement with its flight attendants

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) has announced it has reached a tentative agreement with its Flight Attendants. Terms of the deal were not released, but the airline said they include wage increases, bonus opportunities, and work-rule adjustments.

According to the airline, Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants, represented by Transport Workers Union (TWU) 556, will be presented with the details of the agreement in the coming weeks, and members will have the opportunity to vote on ratification. The current contract became amendable May 31, 2013. If approved, the new agreement will run through May 2019.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8H4 N8662F (msn 36936) completes its final approach to the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

Southwest Airlines:

New Video: Delta celebrates 75 years of flight attendant uniforms

In 1940, flight attendants made their debut as part of the Delta in-flight crew. Watch how their uniforms have evolved over 75 years.

60% of Delta’s flight attendants demand a vote to decide whether to unionize

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) has around 20,000 flight attendants. According to Reuters, “about 60 percent of Delta Air Lines flight attendants have demanded a vote on whether they should unionize, the first step toward an election supervised by a federal agency.”

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

The IAM issued this statement:

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) delivered signed election request cards to the National Mediation Board (NMB) from nearly 12,000 Delta Air Lines Flight Attendants to formally request that the federal agency conduct a union representation election at the carrier.

An election victory for the more than 20,000 Flight Attendants at Delta would be the largest ever transportation sector organizing win and would cap off more than two years of grassroots efforts by Delta Flight Attendants to gain union representation.

The NMB is expected to order a representation election within four to six weeks of this filing. The 12,000 election request cards represent approximately 60 percent of all Delta Flight Attendants, well above the NMB’s minimum requirement of 50 percent to hold an election.

EasyJet flight attendants in France to strike on Friday

EasyJet (easyJet.com) (UK) (London-Luton) flight attendants, angry over scheduling and pay, announced a strike on Friday. The planned action is expected to force the low-cost carrier to cancel about half its flights in France the day after Christmas day.

Though workers from SNPNC-FO and UNAC unions said their strike is to start on Christmas, there are no flights scheduled that day, so the walkout will only impact travellers flying on December 26.

EasyJet said in a statement it “doesn’t know exactly how many workers are to down tools”, but anticipates fewer than half of all flights will be impacted.

The British airline will know the extent of the strike Tuesday because aviation workers are legally obligated to announce strikes 48 hours in advance.
But general director, of EasyJet’s France operations, François Bacchetta told AFP agency the company expected “less than half of flights” to be cancelled.

“On Monday, we will pre-emptively cancel a certain number of flights in order to transfer passengers, so they can adjust their plans,” he said.

Workers are upset over schedules that “can change twenty times per month”, making “family life totally impossible”, said Laurent Nicolas of the SNPNC-FO flight attendants’ union.

Bacchetta acknowledged the demands of the industry were “complicated” and that he understood the “frustration” of workers.

But he was less lenient with protests over salaries, which he said were currently entering annual negotiations.

EasyJet employs about 1,000 people in France, including 600 flight attendants.

Read the full report from The Connexion: CLICK HERE

Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reporting from Manchester.

EasyJet (UK) aircraft slide show:

Alaska Airlines flight attendants ratify the new five-year contract

Alaska Airlines‘ (Seattle/Tacoma) flight attendants have approved a new five-year contract. Included in the new contract are quality of life enhancements and pay increases that rank Alaska’s 3,400 flight attendants among the highest paid in the industry at every pay step.

Under the Railway Labor Act, which governs collective bargaining agreements in the airline industry, contracts do not expire, they only become amendable. The previous agreement became amendable on May 1, 2012 and the new contract will become amendable again on December 17, 2019.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737-990 ER SSWL N459AS (msn 36352) arrives in Los Angeles with Aviation Partners Boeing Split Scimitar Winglets.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show:

United Airlines’ flight attendants to receive Apple’s iPhone 6 cell phones

United Airlines (Chicago) today announced the carrier will equip its flight attendants with Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus, putting important safety and service information at flight attendants’ fingertips while enhancing their ability to meet customers’ needs.

The airline will begin distribution to its more than 23,000 mainline flight attendants during the second quarter of 2015. Upon introduction, the devices will have the ability to handle most onboard retail transactions and will enable access to company email, united.com and the company’s Intranet as well as policies and procedures manuals.

Future enhancements include replacing the flight attendants’ printed safety manual with an electronic version on their iPhones and providing real-time reporting and improved follow-up on aircraft cabin issues and repairs. Additionally, United plans to develop a number of customer-focused tools for the device.

The deployment of iPhone 6 Plus for United flight attendants follows the airline’s deployment of iPads to pilots beginning in 2011, in a move toward creating paperless aircraft and flight decks. United has renewed the iPad pilot program with iPad Air 2.

Photo: United Airlines.

United Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

WestJet’s flight attendants reject the tentative agreement

WestJet (Calgary) has just issued this statement:

WestJet announced today that the tentative agreement with its flight attendants was not ratified. Turnout for the vote was very strong; of the 90 per cent voter turnout, 57 per cent voted against the tentative agreement.

“We are obviously disappointed with the results of the vote,” said Tyson Matheson, WestJet Vice-President, Inflight. “We believe we brought forward an agreement that balanced the needs of our flights attendants with those of the business. I have no doubt that we will come together to resolve the issues that led to these results. I thank our flight attendants for their voice in this process and for the work they do every day, providing our guests with a great experience.”

WestJet’s leadership team and FAAB (the Flight Attendant Association Board) will regroup in the coming weeks, focusing on understanding their specific concerns and following the steps outlined in the dispute resolution process.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8CT C-FKRF (msn 60123) with the new Split Scimitar Winglets arrives in Los Angeles.

WestJet aircraft slide show: