Delta will begin paying flight attendants for flight boarding time : NPR

Delta Air Traces will begin paying flight attendants for the time that passengers are boarding. That is a primary for a serious U.S. airline. Flight attendants within the U.S. usually do not start getting paid till the doorways shut after boarding.

Charlie Riedel/AP

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Charlie Riedel/AP

Delta Air Traces will begin paying flight attendants for the time that passengers are boarding. That is a primary for a serious U.S. airline. Flight attendants within the U.S. usually do not start getting paid till the doorways shut after boarding.

Charlie Riedel/AP

Delta Air Traces, which has narrowly fought off a number of makes an attempt to unionize its flight attendants, will start paying cabin crews throughout boarding, a primary for a serious U.S. airline and a change that’s anticipated to extend their wages by a number of thousand {dollars} a yr.

It’s a notable change for U.S. airways, the place pay for flight attendants begins when all of the passengers are seated and the aircraft’s doorways shut.

Delta mentioned the change will begin June 2 on all flights. In a memo to flight attendants, the airline mentioned the brand new pay “additional acknowledges how necessary your function is on board to making sure a welcoming, protected and on-time begin to every flight.”

The change comes as Delta plans to extend the boarding time for single-aisle or “narrow-body” planes from 35 minutes to 40 minutes, which the airline expects will improve the proportion of flights that depart on time.

Delta’s pilots are represented by a union, however a number of makes an attempt to arrange the flight attendants have failed within the face of fierce opposition by the Atlanta-based firm. The Affiliation of Flight Attendants, which has been gearing up an organizing marketing campaign at Delta for greater than two years, took credit score for the boarding pay.

“This new coverage is the direct results of our organizing,” the union mentioned. “As we get nearer to submitting for our union vote, administration is getting nervous.”

The union mentioned Delta was additionally responding to worker anger over the longer boarding occasions, throughout which flight attendants at present do not receives a commission.

Delta mentioned the brand new boarding pay could be on prime of 4% raises that it granted to flight attendants final month.

Unions symbolize upwards of 80% of staff at American, United and Southwest, however a far decrease proportion at Delta.