US airline flight crews confident and angry as unions seek richer contracts

Alaska Airlines flight attendant Rebecca Owens works 10 hours a day but only gets paid for half that time - a legacy of a common U.S. airline policy to pay cabin crew members only when planes are in motion. Owens, and thousands of cabin crew like her, wants that to change. In August, 68% of Alaska flight attendants in a ratification vote rejected a contract that would have increased average pay by 32% over three years. It was also the first labor agreement that would have legally required airlines to start the clock for paying flight attendants when passengers are boarding, not when the flight starts to taxi down the runway. Delta Air Lines, the only major U.S. airline whose flight attendants are not in a union, instituted boarding pay for its flight attendants at half of their hourly wages in 2022 when they were trying to organize. Alaska and union leaders have resumed federally mediated contract negotiations this week. "I want to be compensated for my time at work and want a livable wage so that you can stand on your own while working this job," said Owens, 35. Negotiations at Alaska are being closely watched because one airline's contract tends to become an industry benchmark. Cabin crews at United Airlines, Frontier and American Airlines' regional subsidiary PSA Airlines are also negotiating new labor agreements.<br/>