American Flight Attendants Kick Off Bargaining on Heels of Strong Q1 Earnings Report

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Flight Attendants at the new American Airlines welcomed reports of the best first quarter in company history and look forward to translating that success to an industry-leading joint contract. In a morning press release, American Airlines announced a staggering $480 million profit, despite a winter full of costly flight cancellations. Coincidentally, the joint negotiating team charged with representing all 24,000 Flight Attendants at the merged airline in contract negotiations submitted an opening proposal to company management later in the morning. The committee is comprised of Flight Attendants from each pre-merger airline including representatives of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (American) and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (US Airways).

"What's good news for American is great news for Flight Attendants," said APFA President Laura Glading. "As the face of this airline, we will continue to work hard to make the company a success. [American CEO] Doug Parker knows that, and I feel confident that we'll reach an agreement that recognizes the Flight Attendants' contribution and commitment to the new American."

"Today's record-breaking earnings for the new American Airlines is monumental for both our airline and our Flight Attendants," said Roger Holmin, AFA-MEC President. "The Flight Attendants at American Airlines deserve a record-breaking contract, which reflects our contributions in making this merger a reality. This contract should set our 24,000 Flight Attendants apart and establish us well above the rest of the industry."

APFA was one of the earliest and most vocal supporters of the American-US Airways merger, predicting that the combined airline would be better able to compete with network carriers United and Delta. Indeed, that has so far been the case as American outperformed both those carriers, as well as Southwest, in the first quarter. Previously, American's best Q1 was in 1998 when then-parent company AMR reported $290 million in earnings. Flight Attendants at the new American are seeking an industry-leading joint collective bargaining agreement that recognizes their prominent role in the company's success.

ABOUT APFA: The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, founded in 1977, represents the more than 16,000 active flight attendants at American Airlines. In November 2011, American's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Throughout the bankruptcy trial, APFA President Laura Glading served on the Unsecured Creditors' Committee where she advocated for the American Airlines Flight Attendants. In February 2013, American and US Airways announced their intention to combine the carriers and on December 9, 2013, American exited bankruptcy and the merger was finalized. Achieving a merger inside bankruptcy is unprecedented in the industry and would not have occurred without the efforts of American's labor unions, particularly APFA.

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SOURCE Association of Professional Flight Attendants