FORT WORTH, Texas — American Airlines flight attendants voted Thursday to approve a new contract, ending a long-running dispute that has drawn the attention of President Joe Biden after flight attendants threatened to strike.
According to the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, the five-year contract includes a salary increase of up to 20.5% on Oct. 1 and annual increases of 2.75%, 3%, 3% and 3.5% thereafter.
For the first time, flight attendants at American Airlines will also be paid for the time passengers spend on the plane.
Flight attendants on U.S. airlines have historically not been paid for boarding time. Delta Air Lines extended 50% payment when non-union cabin crew boarded in 2022, putting pressure on unions to negotiate the same benefit for their members.
The deal covers about 28,000 workers at Fort Worth, Texas-based American. The union said 87% of its members voted in favor of ratification, and 95% of eligible workers participated.
American negotiated a new contract with pilots last year. CEO Robert Isom said striking a deal with flight attendants was a top priority.
American and the union announced in July that they a preliminary agreement has been reached.
The flight attendants, who have not received a pay rise since 2019, threatened to strike, but never got approval of the National Mediation Board. Under federal law, the board must determine that negotiations have stalled before unions can strike. The last strike at a U.S. airline was at Spirit Airlines in 2010.
Biden said in July that an attack on American “would have been devastating for the industry and for consumers.”
Last year the flight attendants were an offer rejected which included an immediate 18% wage increase, followed by annual increases of 2%. The union was seeking an upfront increase of 33%, followed by four annual increases of 6% each.
The deal at American follows a deal at Southwest Airlines, where flight attendants voted in April to approve a contract that will give them cumulative pay increases of about 33% over four years.
United flight attendants are still negotiating. Delta’s cabin crew are non-union; they have 5% pay increase in april.