Major U.S. Airline Reportedly Firing Flight Attendants for Controversial Move

[ad_1] American Airways has reportedly dismissed numerous flight attendants in a crackdown towards rewarding junior coworkers with coveted routes in alternate for cash.

In keeping with Paddle Your Personal Kanoo, American despatched out a warning towards the apply of flight crew promoting journeys earlier this 12 months. The warning got here with the promise of self-discipline sooner or later.

That self-discipline has arrived, per a number of stories. with a minimum of one crew member being fired and the flight attendant's union promising to battle again.

How the journey bidding scheme unfolded American Airways' flight attendant task bidding system is seniority-based. Each month, crew members submit requests for the flights they need to work and their days off.

"These bids are fed right into a ‘preferential bidding system’ which then assigns journeys primarily based on the wants of the airline and the supply of flight attendants," writes Paddle Your Personal Kanoo.

As a result of seniority is factored into the bidding system, flight attendants who've accrued extra time served are first in line for the extra fascinating journeys, which embody abroad routes to Paris, London, Rome and different main cities.

This course of led to some senior flight attendants bidding on and receiving journeys they didn't need to work, and as an alternative rotated and "offered" to much less tenured colleagues.

American Airways personnel have an inner swap system arrange for crew members to drop or swap assignments, however airline higher-ups received wind of the setup being manipulated.

On the commerce board, flight attendants had been reportedly utilizing code akin to cookies or kisses emojis to point they'd solely drop their journey in alternate for money.

American issued a warning again in Might Flight attendants had been despatched a memo three months in the past telling them explicitly that journeys cannot be "purchased, offered or brokered."

"When somebody tries to inappropriately revenue by choosing up a visit or by way of promoting or buying and selling, it violates the intent and integrity of our bidding methods and our requirements of enterprise conduct," the memo learn.

What the flight attendants union is saying On Friday, the union despatched out a memo, per View From The Wing's Gary Leff, telling employees that "posting a visit with an incentive to drop" had led to "absolutely the worst consequence obtainable."

"Our Attendance and Efficiency Coverage is evident," the messages says. "Self-discipline is supposed to be progressive, giving Flight Attendants an opportunity to appropriate conduct. Skipping these steps, particularly on a rule they only determined to implement, is a direct violation of simply trigger and due course of."

The union has additionally reportedly requested for American to cease making use of blanket self-discipline and choose any circumstances on particular person benefit.