Grade-A b**tch FA's at AA

[B727FA]

"An AA 767 International flight generally goes out with nearly $500/hour in direct hourly FA costs. that's just salary. The cockpit gets paid about $430/hour in salary."

Easy tiger...Let's do the math if you really want to. Even with straight splits: INTL FD crew: CA, IRC and FO. Ignoring the CA is paid more: that's $143/hr for FD crew. Assuming FA staffing at 9 and, also ignoring Purser, LOD, etc pay, that's $55/hr for CC.

Nice try.

It always kills me when pilots are so quick to point out that it only takes a GED and a few weeks of training to do the job...and? Why should an FA earn that much? Why do you care? Seriously...why do pilots care? Labor cost is never the reason an airline fails--check out a little experiment called SkyBus--it's bad MGT.

FA's and their pay, work-rules, etc don't directly impact your QOL; so why is so much energy spent by pilots pointing out how inferior and non-career oriented the FA job is in both qualifications, training and status? We get it: you're all amazing!

 

[grinder]

Do the multiplication....

 

[aa73]

The point is this. You're always going to run into some bad apples at every airline. Does AA have a disproportionate amount - I don't know and frankly I don't care. 99% of the F/As I work with are dang good at what they do and we manage to have fun - very professional. Yes we need customers just like everyone else - BUT - you can't continue to gouge employee groups and expect them to continue to deliver spic and span service 100% of the time. There are bound to be angry employees. I'm sorry but that's the way it is. Morale - and service - will go up when the employees start feeling like the company is accountable and is doing something about it - i.e. giving us our loan back, with interest. Until then, you are bound to run into some disharmony.

 

[macdu]

The point is this. You're always going to run into some bad apples at every airline. Does AA have a disproportionate amount - I don't know and frankly I don't care. 99% of the F/As I work with are dang good at what they do and we manage to have fun - very professional. Yes we need customers just like everyone else - BUT - you can't continue to gouge employee groups and expect them to continue to deliver spic and span service 100% of the time. There are bound to be angry employees. I'm sorry but that's the way it is. Morale - and service - will go up when the employees start feeling like the company is accountable and is doing something about it - i.e. giving us our loan back, with interest. Until then, you are bound to run into some disharmony.

With that very well written execution of the facts I vote to table this measure to the F/A forum. End of thread

 

[MD80DRVR]

The F/A's at AA are angels when compared with their gate agents....

 

[Kalifornia]

The real problem is the flight attendant position was never meant to be a full time career, just a temporary job like being a waiter. Unfortunately the politically correct types demanded an end to weight/age/fitness/etc. requirements and so forth, and now I wish all those soft boiled legal brains the bad service they deserve on which ever particular flight they happen to embark.

 

[se1776]

Just flew AA a few days ago, MD-80, DFW to MMMX. Superb, grade-A, b**tches as FA's on that flight.

WTF is wrong with your FA program. The pax are the reason the company is afloat, and the FA is the primary face of the company.

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

 

[StopNTSing]

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

I'll let him confirm it, but I'm pretty sure whenever sat's airlining to somewhere, he's on a ticket.

 

[say again]

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

Reread what he wrote.

 

[C-150ETOPS]

Easy tiger...Let's do the math if you really want to. .........

B727FA,

Try reading my post again. Try to understand the concept of total cockpit and total FA costs. Notice also that my problem is with certain members of that group who provide documented crappy service, yet have been paid near the top of the industry for over a decade.

Note that I also stated pure fact regarding skills and qualifications and that I have total respect for Merry Maids and many other entry level jobs, jobs that many FA's routinely show complete contempt for as they interact with them at airports and layovers. I have respect for jobs like those since my work history includes cleaning up ejected bodily fluids and material from every orifice on the human body in temps from -15F to +100F. This was from a period when I wasn't qualified to be a Merry Maid.

 

[Raoul Duke]

AA's FA's are number one or a close number 2 in being the best compensated for that job in the USA. If I'm wrong, then they are within single digit percentage points of the best contract and we know company differences make that difference nothing.

An AA 767 International flight generally goes out with nearly $500/hour in direct hourly FA costs. that's just salary. The cockpit gets paid about $430/hour in salary. That gives usually gets us 16 out of 18 in customer service rankings.

It's a job that can be done with a GED and a weeks worth of training. They are basically qualified to be a "Merry Maid" outside of AA. 20-30% of their group sheetcan the working enviroment for their co-workers and the passengers. The rest our great, and still get blamed for what AA gives them to work with regarding service.

I've got to hand it too them. They are the most financially successful group of any employee who started at AA on day one. I know of more FA's or former FA's that live in $ Million + waterfront homes than I do B777 Captains. the most succesful one so far just got a $100 Million divorce payout. (Greg Norman's Ex, former AA FA. ) I bet she's has more cash from her AA experience than any AA executive going back to Crandall.

Just dem facts'

why do they need GEDs? That seems like overkill for a job that involves opening cans of soda. . .

 

[Raoul Duke]

The real problem is the flight attendant position was never meant to be a full time career, just a temporary job like being a waiter. Unfortunately the politically correct types demanded an end to weight/age/fitness/etc. requirements and so forth, and now I wish all those soft boiled legal brains the bad service they deserve on which ever particular flight they happen to embark.

This is exactly right. FA payscales should be the reverse of what they are now. They should start at the top and go down. By year 3 they would quit and move on to something better. Passengers would be happy, attitude in the cabin would be better and the 300lb hags that can't fit down the isle would be a thing of the past.

 

[SMcC]

Don't jumpseat on them again then. That will fix that problem.

Not only you're getting a free ride and you still complaning?

Shame on you!!!

...another ditto

 

[say again]

...another ditto

He wasnt jumpseating. It's not a hard thing to comprehend what one writes here.

 

[Flopgut]

Just flew AA a few days ago, MD-80, DFW to MMMX. Superb, grade-A, b**tches as FA's on that flight.

WTF is wrong with your FA program. The pax are the reason the company is afloat, and the FA is the primary face of the company.

How much was your ticket? It was first class, right? I mean, you wouldn't come on hear and gripe about service and crew demeanor and be riding in the back? That would be ridiculous....

First class seats on my airline are equal to whatever you've got going on your jet. The loudest gripers I hear are in the back. That wasn't you though, right?