News

A Christmas Mess

It’s Christmas Eve 2021 and management is cancelling hundreds of flights claiming “disruptions from Omicron.” Delta has cancelled 157 flights, 7% of the operation as of 12pm Eastern.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported that Delta management said “exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crew to cover scheduled flying.”

We know. We’re living it and we’re exhausted.

In the last 24 hours management has suggested to Delta Flight Attendants (in addition to asking the CDC to shorten quarantine times for crew):

  • Offered to drop vacation to “help the the operation”
  • IPY (6 of the last 8 days)
  • And rerouted hours and hours into our days off (days off like Christmas Eve!) – without restoration of the day off later this month or next bid month.

What management hasn’t offered Delta Flight Attendants:

  • An adequately scheduled operation to reflect our current staffing levels

  • Additional holiday incentives as other Flight Attendant groups have negotiated to ensure the operation remains intact

Management knew the operation was tight or short-staffed – instead of being proactive, we’re left with a reactive mess. It doesn’t have to be this way. Just look at Alaska and American.

Alaska management resisted negotiating additional holiday incentives for a month, but as the operation became strained earlier this week our AFA Alaska Leadership went back to management one more time to negotiate incentives and ensure the operation remains steady. The result for any trips worked no matter how they were assigned (scheduled, reserve or pickup):

  • Double time (2.0x) premium on all flights flown, including surface deadhead, and/or Airport Standby (APSB) that begin or end between and including 00:00 (midnight) 12/23/2021 and 23:59 1/2/2022 local time.
  • Holiday reassignments pay protection (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day) – meaning if a Flight Attendant gets reassigned to another trip with less credit value, they’ll still be paid the holiday pay rate for the old trip if greater.
  • Plus holiday pay still applies on 12/24, 12/25, and 1/1, so 3x pay on those days.

Today as of 12pm eastern, Alaska has only cancelled 11 flights.

American Flight Attendants, with the assistance of AFA Director of Collective Bargaining Joe Burns and the great leadership of APFA President Julie Hedrick, negotiated a one-time holiday pay premium – 150% of pay for select dates around Thanksgiving and Christmas — that will automatically turn to 300% for all trips worked over the critical periods if no absences between Nov. 15 and Jan. 2.

Today as of 12pm Eastern, American has effectively cancelled 0% of the operation.

Our Flight Attendant Union will help Delta Flight Attendants and help the company. Let’s make 2022 the year we secure our union at Delta—sign your card, update your card, and join our campaign today. It's good for Flight Attendants, good for the company, and good for our future.

P.S. AFA EAP is always available for Delta Flight Attendants at (844) 232-2228, Ext. 1.