The contract fight for American Airlines' flight attendants is over.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants approved a new five-year contract with the DFW-based carrier Thursday afternoon. Nearly nine out of 10 members approved the agreement that gives wage increases of up to 20%.
Overall, the contract will give the flight attendants $4.2 billion over the life of the contract. APFA President Julie Hedrick says this new contract has two firsts. It pays flight attendants for the time between flights and they will now start getting paid when boarding starts. Under the old contract, pay did not start until the passengers had been seated and the door was closed.
U.S. airline flight attendants historically have not been paid for boarding time and those who say they have not received any raise since 2019, started to threat to go on strike.