- American Airlines has 7,000-8,000 too many flight attendants on its payroll, according to an internal memo seen by Business Insider.
- While seeking to realign its operations and network around the changing demands during the coronavirus pandemic, the airline plans to close several bases and reduce others.
- American gave leave notices to some administration and support employees this week, who will continue to be paid until September under the CARES Act, sources told Business Insider.
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American Insider has planned to reconfigure and significantly reduce staffing at some of its bases, and plans to reduce its hostess ranks by up to 8,000 employees.
In a memo sent to the airline’s flight attendants, Senior Vice President of Flight Services Jill Surdek described the plight of the airline’s cabin crew as the airline seeks to downsize and adjust its network and operations based on of reduced and changing demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
The memo came when American issued some of its first leave notices to management and support employees. Those workers will continue to be paid until September.
As stewardesses anxiously await the news of the permits, which the airline is expected to announce this month with affected employees still paid through September 30, Surdek said details had not yet been determined.
“The short answer is that we don’t have an answer yet,” says the memo.
However, Surdek wrote that the airline expects to have an excess staff of between 7,000 and 8,000 flight attendants, based on anticipated flight and demand in 2021. American has around 26,000 flight attendants in its entire system.
The airline said it plans to try to reduce the amount as much as possible through various voluntary options, such as shopping and early retirement.
“This does not mean that we are going to suspend many stewardesses, but it is an excess that we will have to address,” Surdek wrote.
In addition, the airline plans to close several of its main hostess bases and resize others.
The bases in St. Louis and Raleigh-Durham will close in February 2021 and will become crew base satellites in Dallas-Fort Worth and Charlotte, respectively. However, some crew members are likely to have to move or commute to work taking flights from home to their new bases. It was not immediately clear how many crew members would be affected.
The airline also plans to adjust the size of its crew bases on other airlines, giving insight into the airline’s national and international network strategy as it reforms around the changing demand expected in the coming years.
Surdek wrote that the airline expects to see “flat to moderate growth in Washington, DC, San Francisco and Boston.” “Moderate” reductions are expected at several of the airline’s largest hubs, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Chicago, and New York’s LaGuardia. A “noticeable” reduction is expected in Phoenix, Miami and Los Angeles. The airline also hopes to reduce bases in Latin America.
Finally, due to low load factors on international flights, in part as a result of border closures and travel restrictions around the world, the airline plans to reduce cabin crew personnel on international flights, as well as some transcontinental flights.
The airline will use the FAA minimum personnel standards, plus an additional crew member on all flights, except those operated by Boeing 787-8 aircraft, effective October 1, 2020. That means 11 flight attendants. on the largest U.S. wide-body aircraft, the Boeing 777-300, and just eight on the smallest wide-body aircraft currently in service for the airline, the 787-8. Transcontinental flights operated with an Airbus A321T will have five flight attendants.
Major U.S. airlines received payroll support through the CARES Act, which restricted them from firing, suspending, or cutting employee wages until after September 30. However, U.S. airlines are expected to begin notifying suspended employees this month, while continuing to pay them until October.
Sources tell Business Insider that American began notifying its management and support employees of the permits earlier this week. However, due to collective bargaining agreements, the airline must work with unions separately before giving up front-line employees such as flight attendants, pilots, and baggage handlers.
In the memo, Surdek wrote that more information is expected to be available to front-line workers in the coming weeks.
“While I know that this communication has a lot to take in and raises many questions, we want to give you a holistic view of what’s on the horizon as you make decisions about your future,” Surdek wrote. “And while it can be scary to see such large excesses, keep in mind that we are doing everything we can to mitigate or potentially eliminate the need for inadvertent reductions, while keeping our costs manageable.”
American declined to comment, aside from confirming the veracity of the memo.
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