Viral ‘courtesy’ letter American Airlines gives flight attendants shows how little they make

3 comments

1. The letter states that a new American Airlines flight attendant will have a “projected annual salary [of] $27,315 per year before
   incentives and taxes” and concludes, “Any courtesy you can provide would be appreciated.”

   The union representing American Airlines workers, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), verified the authenticity of the letter, which is given to potential landlords or for other services where attendants need to verify their employment and income.

   The union represents 28,000 American Airlines flight attendants, and it is working on their first new contract in five years – a deal that stretches back before the pandemic and the inflation crisis.

   American Airlines did not respond to CNN’s requests for comment.

   This salary is above the federal poverty line of $15,060 for a single-person household. But that’s a national level and doesn’t take into account regional price differences, including in major metro areas where the cost of living can be significantly higher.

   In some states, such as Massachusetts, new flight attendants would qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, commonly referred to as food stamps. For a single-person household, Massachusetts residents earning less than $30,120 a year are eligible for SNAP benefits.

   “We have flight attendants who are sleeping in their cars,” APFA communications director Paul Hartshorn told CNN.

   American Airlines flight attendants have not gotten a raise since 2019, and the union is escalating its push for a new contract to raise wages.

   While being a flight attendant is a full-time job, many flight attendants only get about 75 hours of hourly pay a month.

   For many flight attendants, hourly pay basically begins when the plane’s door closes.
   They do not get paid for the hours they need to be at the airport or on the plane during boarding and deplaning.”

2. That is brutal. Just about $500 a week. Plus a lot of times they have to stay in hotels which are paid for but they have other daily expenses too. They can make more driving for Uber.

3. The economy has been hollowed out to the point that the only folks making good money are in the top 10-20% of earners. The rest of us are fighting over the few scraps the ruling class let fall from their high table.