According to several sources, American Airlines is allegedly accusing flight attendants of making money from delays. At a time where negotiations for new contracts are still ongoing and the outcome remains unclear, the airline is reportedly choosing to make things even worse by focusing on a hard-to-proof “illegal” practice.
Travel expert JonNYC reported this statement he claimed he gathered from American Airlines:
“We are seeing an increased occurrence of FAs picking up trips (UBL/ETB) when they are in the midst of a potential creeping (rolling) delay in their current sequence thus resulting in “Illegal Through No Fault” (JCBA 10.K) pay protection. Examples the company has provided are; a next individual sequence where you have to have FAA minimum home base rest of 10 hours in between, or a double-up where you are required to have the prescribed time of 1:30 between arrival and departure of second sequence. (among other examples)
Crew Schedule Seniors are examining each and every one of these last-minute pick-ups that result in pay protection to determine whether there was intent to manufacture an illegality resulting in pay. The Company has noticed APFA they consider this theft. They will take a deep-dive into when you picked up the trip, when the delay began, what did the crew know and when (even including Flight) and potentially bringing you in to investigate. The company’s position is just because the times haven’t been modified/sequence has yet to be repaired, doesn’t mean the crew is unaware it is inevitable.
In the event the company determines (by review of data) you had no intent to fly the trip they will take the pay away and potentially bring you in for investigation. Please ensure you only bid/pick up trips you have an honest intent of flying and are confident you will be legal to fly to avoid the Company’s scrutiny, and be able to back-up your decision with factual data.”
Ben Schlappig, travel author at One Mile At A Time, picked up JonNYC’s post and dove into the matter, explaining the way of operating. “Flight attendants have a complex system through which they can bid on trips, based on a variety of factors, and that determines their schedules,” he wrote. “In addition to their standard monthly bidding, flight attendants can pick up trips at the last minute for extra pay, assuming it doesn’t interfere with any trips they already have on their schedule. They always need a minimum amount of rest between sequences, typically at least 10 hours.”
Schlappig suggested that American Airlines flight attendants are “intentionally picking up trips that they have no intention of flying, in order to get more pay, and the company is calling it theft.”
American Airlines now seems to be looking into the matter, saying it is “illegal”. However, so far it’s not clear how the airline is planning on controlling those last-minute bids nor how it plans to take action against them.
“I suspect this is primarily about trying to make flight attendants scared about this behavior going forward, but I guess we’ll see. If the company does take disciplinary action against flight attendants, I imagine the union will have a lot to say”, Schlappig writes.
