Aircraft Substitutions Requiring Fewer Flight Attendants

Date: July 12, 2022

Summer has always been a time when daily flight levels increase due to passenger demand and as we are well into the summer season, we would like to remind you of some contractual protections.

The months leading up to summer have traditionally been less hectic, allowing us time to prepare for the heightened stress of summer flying.   However, we haven’t had that break like we have had in the past years. 

From time to time, we all experience a change or substitution of aircraft that requires fewer number of Flight Attendants than was originally scheduled. 

For example, the previous grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX fleet provided a number of examples many Flight Attendants experienced when the pairings were originally built as four (4) Flight Attendant crew complement pairings and, in some instances, the new aircraft assigned to the flight required a three (3) Flight Attendant crew complement on the A319/A320 or 737-700.

Our Contract provides for specific procedures to be followed in these circumstances.   Flight Attendants are reminded to be familiar with what occurs in the event of an aircraft substitution through the Equipment Change language in our current Contract Section 7.Q.7. and as was previously communicated in the April 3, 2019, AFA news article.