LM Otero/AP
- American Airlines is offering a $1000 bonus to workers with perfect attendance during the holiday season.
- The incentive comes after a chaotic Halloween weekend meltdown caused by bad weather and staffing issues.
- American Airlines is also offering up to 300% in bonus pay for flight attendants with perfect attendance.
American Airlines is offering relief to employees this holiday season with a bonus payment of $1000 for perfect attendance.
After a chaotic meltdown over the Halloween weekend, American Airlines is incentivizing its unionized and non-unionized employees to show up for work during the holidays. American told Insider that eligible workers, like dispatchers, mechanics, flight crew trainers, passenger service agents, and crew schedulers, would receive $1,000 for perfect attendance between November 15 and January 2.
Moreover, airport and reservations agents who work on four specific peak days would receive time-and-a-half pay for their originally scheduled shift. Peak days for airport workers are November 25, November 26, December 25, and January 1, while peak days for reservations employees are November 27, November 28, December 26, and January 2.
American Airlines is also offering significant bonuses to its flight attendants. The company has signed a Letter of Agreement with the company's union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, offering up to 300% in bonus pay for crew members from November to January, APFA and American confirmed to Insider.
In an internal memo viewed by Insider, American told its flight attendants that they will receive 150% pay for peak days worked this season, which includes any day between November 23 and November 29 or December 22 and January 2. For flight attendants who had perfect attendance between November 15 and January 2, meaning they did not remove themselves from a trip other than for approved vacation time, will receive 300% pay for time worked between the aforementioned peak days.
American explained the incentive as a "one-time special holiday pay premium" in an effort "to recognize team members who have been and will continue to help us run a reliable operation," according to the memo.
In a separate memo from AFPA viewed by Insider, the union told workers that the reasoning behind the negotiations was to bring "well-deserved relief" to its flight attendants.
"Reschedules, cancellations, lack of hotel rooms, and transportation plagued this airline with a frequency we had never seen," the union said in the memo. "These disruptions affect our mental well-being, stress levels, family and personal relationships. APFA has an obligation to do everything possible to make our work lives as easy as possible."
The pay boosts come after two major operational meltdowns experienced by American since the summer. The company canceled hundreds of flights in June due to maintenance issues and staffing shortages, according to the carrier. Then, over Halloween weekend, American canceled over 2,000 flights, citing high winds in Dallas-Fort Worth and staffing shortages.
The carrier struggled to keep up with the rising demand during the summer, having canceled 80 flights per day in June and 1% of its flights in July in an effort to bring "additional resilience and certainty" to its schedule, according to The Wall Street Journal.
With the US opening to fully vaccinated travelers on Monday, travel demand is not expected to slow down. American COO David Seymour told employees in a letter seen by Insider that the company plans to hire 600 pilots and airport crew by the end of 2021. American also brought back 1,800 flight attendants on November 1, with an additional 800 set to come back on December 1, according to the airline.
