Truth Be Told: Purser Pay

Delta management continues to feed us inaccurate information when comparing our Purser pay to other unionized carriers. In their OAL Comparison, management claims that they offer us industry-leading Purser pay by adding BOTH the Purser and Service Leader hourly rates together, then comparing the total to Purser Pay at American and United.

(Screenshot from Delta Management’s OAL Comparison, Page 7)

The truth is, the Purser (A-position) and the Service Leader (B-position) are two totally different positions on the aircraft. A Flight Attendant who is Purser Qualified CANNOT fly both positions at the same time on the same flight. They CANNOT receive a total $9.45 an hour per flight. 

A Purser-qualified Flight Attendant either receives $5.65/hr (now $6.65/hr) for flying Purser or receives $3.80 (now $4.80/hr) for flying Service Leader. Even with the recent increase in Purser pay, Delta Flight Attendants still fall below American and United’s Purser pay of $7.50/hr. Pursers at American and United have been earning that rate of pay for years.

When Delta management released their OAL comparison, they knew that the $5.65/hr for Purser and $3.80/hr for Service Leader trailed significantly behind American and United's Purser pay rate of $7.50/hr. Management took two separate compensations that cannot be earned simultaneously and combined them making it "appear" like we are paid a higher hourly rate than our competitors.

In addition, there are two major problems to their approach when assessing and comparing purser/lead pay rates:

• Management adds $1.75 of galley pay at AA in an obvious attempt to lessen the impact of combining the rates of pay for two positions to DL. The $1.75 at AA applies when working the 757/767/A350 aircraft. What they fail to state is that at AA when working the 777/787 aircraft, their galley pay is even higher at $3.00 per hour.  These two aircraft fly the majority of their transoceanic routes.
• While management combines Purser and Service Leader pay rates for their comparison to other airlines they conveniently leave out United's additional $1.00 per hour for galley pay. This is completely inconsistent and highlights the degree that management’s comparison is a results-driven presentation that defies logic and reason.

Let’s form our union and negotiate a Purser premium pay that is truly industry-leading and reflective of the premium services we provide to our passengers!

Sign your card today, then sign up to be an activist. Let’s win, together.