Flt Attendant pay in 2008 vs 1986

[ArtTang]

Just for the heck of it, I calculated my very first paycheck from AA (I still have it as a souvenir) and adjusted the amount for inflation in today's dollars. In September 1986, my PRE-TAX mid-month check was 496.00. The taxes were as follows: FICA: 34.75 and US w/h Tax: 54.10. Therefore, my take home pay was about 407.15 which, adjusted to today's dollar value, comes to $793. Remember this was for 33.50 hours. Fast forward to 2008: my mid month check before taxes is $1,586 (in the domestic division). After I deduct taxes, medical, pre-funding of retirement, and the rest of all the other little treats the company has extracted from us, my mid-month check today comes to $1,077 (take home amount). Of course, this is for 35 hours, so we must deduct the total hours paid by one hour and ten minutes in order to mirror the 1986 check which was for 33.50 hours. This lowers my mid month check to $1,536, bringing my take-home to $1,045 (before 401K, of course). We must now do the arithmetic: 1045 - 793 = 252.

So, in 22 years, my pay has increased a mere $252.00 for the mid month check. For a 70 hour month (which used to be considered a full month of flying), the total monthly increase comes to a whopping $575 from step one of the B-scale pay scale. So, when the company tells the media the flight attendants make $50 an hour and work 11 days a month, we know it is bull because our take home salary is barely more than it was in 1986. Most flight attendants work a great deal more than 70 hours a month just to make ends meet. It seems we have all reverted to B scale.

Now, before you all start accusing flight attendants of being stupid for staying in a dead end job for so long, let me assure you that most flight attendants I know...including yours truly...have second careers or are in school with the goal of establishing a second (or third) career. I merely wanted to post these figures to counter some of the misinformation that is circulating in some commercial venues concerning our pay. AOL, for instance, recently extolled the flight attendant career as being one of the "cushiest" in the United States due to its high salary and number of days off. Perhaps AOL was looking at our contract before it was gutted as a result of the RPA.

 

[Garfield1966]

Wow, an entry level job which requires very little training, has no advancement opportunities (unless purser is considered an advancement) has minimal salary increases. Go figure. What will they think of next.

I have only doubled my salary since I started. I could have done much better but I hate interviewing and I have liked the jobs I had and did not want to move around that much. Plus there are not that many operational jobs in the company.

Good luck with your second career.

 

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

I did the same calculations.
I am making less now than I did in 1986
At least you got a raise
:angry:

 

[TWU informer]

I thought I had maybe broke even this month with the $800.00 Boned Us Check unitl I went to Pharmacy to get Med's for flu.

Out-of-Pocket $93.16 and was lucky the physician just called those in so I didnt have an office visit payment to boot.

 

[ArtTang]

Wow, an entry level job which requires very little training, has no advancement opportunities (unless purser is considered an advancement) has minimal salary increases. Go figure. What will they think of next.

I have only doubled my salary since I started. I could have done much better but I hate interviewing and I have liked the jobs I had and did not want to move around that much. Plus there are not that many operational jobs in the company.

Good luck with your second career.

Garfield,

The flight attendant job offered pay increases and actually was quite good once we secured the last contract. This same contract was gutted as a result of the RPA, which basically throws us back to square one. Management continues to lavish multi-million dollar bonuses on itself while labor (which includes you, by the way) fails to keep pace with the highest rates of inflation in 26 years (figures supported by the Labor Department which reported that wholesale inflation was up 6.3 percent for all of 2007). The point is management is already disseminating "facts" and "figures" that portray the flight attendant position at AA as being well compensated when in reality it is not. I'm sure the APA and TWU have noticed similar seeds planted in the press as negotiations draw near. It's an old trick the company never tires of using.

Thanks for the wishes for the second career. Everything is coming along on schedule. I'm ABD and plan to finish everything by December.

 

[Garfield1966]

I did the same calculations.
I am making less now than I did in 1986
At least you got a raise
:angry:

Any raises I got were erased by the cuts we took after 9/11. My increase in salary was because I moved around in the company instead of staying in one department.

 

[Garfield1966]

Garfield,

The flight attendant job offered pay increases and actually was quite good once we secured the last contract. This same contract was gutted as a result of the RPA, which basically throws us back to square one. Management continues to lavish multi-million dollar bonuses on itself while labor (which includes you, by the way) fails to keep pace with the highest rates of inflation in 26 years (figures supported by the Labor Department which reported that wholesale inflation was up 6.3 percent for all of 2007). The point is management is already disseminating "facts" and "figures" that portray the flight attendant position at AA as being well compensated when in reality it is not. I'm sure the APA and TWU have noticed similar seeds planted in the press as negotiations draw near. It's an old trick the company never tires of using.

Thanks for the wishes for the second career. Everything is coming along on schedule. I'm ABD and plan to finish everything by December.

Just to play devils advocate. How many other jobs are out there where if you play the game well, you can be off 15 days or more out of the month, still get paid full time pay, have health coverage that is far better then what is offered to most labor, and go to school to get a second career?

Yea management are pricks. What else is new? Labor is getting screwed by said management, yea been there and done that. Once my wife gets her nursing degree I might blow this pop stand also.

he fact still remains that being a FA was never intended as a full time career. When it changed from a few year gig to see te world and earn a few bucks to a career goal I have no idea. The fact that it is union seems to make it even worse as once you leave you cannot go back with out starting over. I can if I want, go anywhere in the company. I take my seniority with me in most cases. I can work in different departments. If I get tired of what I am doing (which I have) I look for something else.

I got my salary increases the old fashioned way. I just moved around in the company. Had I moved around more I would be making much more but that involved sacrifices/risks I was not wiling to make.

 

[eolesen]

I don't know of too many entry level jobs which have a 20 year pay scale... that's why they're called entry level.

Management continues to lavish multi-million dollar bonuses on itself

Side topic, perhaps, but has anyone heard if PUP is paying out this year? Seems a bit strange that it hasn't been discussed on the forum, and I don't see anything from any of the union PR hacks decrying it...

 

[ArtTang]

I don't know of too many entry level jobs which have a 20 year pay scale... that's why they're called entry level.



Side topic, perhaps, but has anyone heard if PUP is paying out this year? Seems a bit strange that it hasn't been discussed on the forum, and I don't see anything from any of the union PR hacks decrying it...

from APFA hotline dated 1-16-8:

[. . .], Mr. Arpey and his four top officers are set to receive more than $9 million in April (2008) when the next executive bonus windfall takes place for what will be the third year in a row. At today’s AMR stock price of $13.57 a share, $70 million total will go to roughly the same 800 or so senior managers who were rewarded last year and the year before; all while the rest of us are expected to continue working more hours for less pay with little rest and no food. It is time for this injustice to come to an end.

 

[ArtTang]

Just to play devils advocate. How many other jobs are out there where if you play the game well, you can be off 15 days or more out of the month, still get paid full time pay, have health coverage that is far better then what is offered to most labor, and go to school to get a second career?

Yea management are pricks. What else is new? Labor is getting screwed by said management, yea been there and done that. Once my wife gets her nursing degree I might blow this pop stand also.

he fact still remains that being a FA was never intended as a full time career. When it changed from a few year gig to see te world and earn a few bucks to a career goal I have no idea. The fact that it is union seems to make it even worse as once you leave you cannot go back with out starting over. I can if I want, go anywhere in the company. I take my seniority with me in most cases. I can work in different departments. If I get tired of what I am doing (which I have) I look for something else.

I got my salary increases the old fashioned way. I just moved around in the company. Had I moved around more I would be making much more but that involved sacrifices/risks I was not wiling to make.

Garfield,

You are correct when you state that some F/As are able to enjoy working 15 days or less a month while attending school. However, a F/A must have plenty of seniority to do so. I waited until I was off reserve and could hold decent lines before I returned to school. If I were based in Chicago International or Dallas International, however, this would not be possible. I am fortunate to be based in Miami which is a more junior base. As a matter of fact, flight attendants with 18 years of seniority are still on reserve in Miami, so returning to school is almost impossible. So, you are correct that some F/As have the luxury of flying fewer days while being able to pursue second careers, but this luxury was hard earned through years of being on reserve and/or holding less desirable lines. I do not think it is a question of, as you say, "playing the game well." Rather, it is a question of having adequate seniority. Furthermore, a flight attendant may have the good fortune of working a 12 day line, but I assure you the duty days are never going to be a regular 8 hour day. The duty days...from sign-in to debrief...are typically 10+ hours a day on lines that fly 12 days a month. I know, I know, it is still less than a 40 hour week. My God, there has to be SOME incentive to keep people flying at these wages.

As for the second portion of your post. I think this horse has been beaten more than once on this 4M. The flight attendant job used to be for young, pretty women who had to retire once they married or reached a certain age. I think we can all agree that this rule was sexist and wrong even though it took a court of law to declare it so. Once these ridiculous rules were thrown out, women could marry and have children and keep their jobs. What a novel idea! Men were also allowed to join in on the gig, so the stewardess job became a flight attendant career.

Also, if a flight attendant chooses to move into a new position within AMR (with the exception of flight service manager, although this rule changed only 18 years ago...or thereabout), I believe s/he keeps company seniority but loses the ability to reclaim his/her place on the flight attendant seniority list. I may be wrong about this. I have never had any desire to move into a management position at AMR.

One last thing: in your current position, do you not receive annual pay increases? I would think it odd if your salary remained stagnant from year to year.

Peace,
Art

 

[Mach85ER]

Garfield,

It's because of a few FA's that you (and everyone at AA) still have a job here. Try thanking them sometime.

 

[Garfield1966]

One last thing: in your current position, do you not receive annual pay increases? I would think it odd if your salary remained stagnant from year to year.

Peace,
Art

For a while we got nothing when pay was frozen. We started to get the 1.5% a few years back.

 

[nbmcg01]

For a while we got nothing when pay was frozen. We started to get the 1.5% a few years back.

Garfield, your utter contempt for the f/a profession is once again shown in your posts. Whether it should be a career or not is not for you to decide. Perhaps schedulers and planners should also hold limited termed jobs because of burnout and bias. Your arguments could be addressed with almost any profession. The majority of f/as have at least one degree, many multiple. The skills needed in a given day utilize not only book knowledge but life skills. As a former Director of Training, Policy and Procedure, I have watched many an educated person fail the basic f/a training. Why? It didn't match their skill sets.

As to the time off, please remember that much of the time off is regulated for a reason. While the tasks may be easy, the periods of time zone changes, multiple adrenalin "rushes" followed by "down" time is hard on the body. The constant changes in pressurization also factor in to the physical nature of the job. Yes, it is an essential job function. But also, one agrees to follow the terms of the CBA, which was negotiated in "good faith" and signed by the Company and the Union. I don't get to change my payment schedule with my creditors due to the horrible events of 9-11. As one who has done several jobs within the flying industry, and now working in non- profit, I can honestly say neither is harder. Different but not harder. I now work 5 days a week, (could work 4 longer days), no "reserve or on call", weekends and holidays off, from the 23rd of Dec. until Jan. 2 off (paid), generous vacation and superior medical. So which is better time off?

If I were your manager and read the tone of some of your posts, I'd be concerned.

 

[Garfield1966]

Never said it was my choice. It's a 6 week training course some of which is complete non-safety related. Seems like part of your second paragraph is a better argument for it being a short term gig just due to health reason much less any of the other short comings.

You have your opinion I have mine. As for crew skd, I have no idea if some of my co-workers think of it as a life career. I sure as hell do not. I figure a few more years for me at most and I will find another department in AA to terrorize. Hmmmmm may flight service

You would not last a week in Crew Skd. Your bias is clear here on the board. I wonder if an FA would ever loose a NOD with you? In nearly 10 years, I have had one pay claim and it had nothing to do with bias, it had to do with a hi-send that was not received. As for my supposed contempt, you do not even know me to do not even go there. As one example, see the slapped pax thread. I stood up for the FA stating that people should not be condemned with out the facts.

 

[North by Northwest]

Wow, an entry level job which requires very little training, has no advancement opportunities (unless purser is considered an advancement) has minimal salary increases. Go figure. What will they think of next.

I have only doubled my salary since I started. I could have done much better but I hate interviewing and I have liked the jobs I had and did not want to move around that much. Plus there are not that many operational jobs in the company.

Good luck with your second career.

You just remember what you said IF one of your loved ones OR YOU are on a burning plane stuck and not know how to get off...as in AF Toronto.

It's called human insurance, kinda like firefighters, but used less often (thank GOD) and many normal people value it FAR more than silly little pundits about career moves.

Kinda like the US gov. allowing America's civil air plane fleet to be sent to Communist China for repairs while focused on greed ...until the day comes when War rears it's ugly head over Taiwan, and China grounds half our civil fleet.

Those silly useless Flight Attendants, they should be banned.