American Airlines has abandoned a controversial plan to have its brand new Boeing 787-9 in an ultra-premium configuration certified so that just seven working flight attendants have to be onboard… at least temporarily.
The plan to seek the reduced crew certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was leaked last December, and it immediately drew fierce opposition from the union that represents flight attendants at the Fort Worth-based carrier.
At present, American Airlines’ Boeing 787s are certified to have a minimum crew of eight flight attendants onboard at all times, which means that in the event of an emergency, there is one crew member to operate each of the eight exits.
American Airlines plans to operate its new 787-9P (the ‘P’ stands for Premium) with at least nine crew members, but should a flight attendant go sick during an international layover, rather than canceling a flight, that number can be legally reduced to eight crew members.
The first of 30 Boeing 787-9Ps took to the skies in commercial service on Thursday for a domestic leg between Chicago O’Hare and Los Angeles International Airport, ahead of its maiden international flight between Chicago and London Heathrow from Friday.
The aircraft marks the most significant change to AA’s onboard product in years, with 51 enclosed Flagship business class seats with sliding doors, including four new Flagship Preferred Suites that are slightly larger, more spacious, and with extra amenities.
The 787-9P has won a healthy amount of praise from industry experts and frequent flyers, but flight attendants aren’t entirely convinced about some aspects of the aircraft.
Along with smaller galleys to work in, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) has voiced its opposition to reducing the minimum crew level on this aircraft.
On Wednesday, however, American Airlines published internal documents that revealed it was yet to secure certification from the FAA to operate the 787-9P with just seven crew members in extenuating circumstances.
As a result, the aircraft is being put into service with the current minimum crew requirement, although AA is still pursuing the reduced crew level.
This would mimic the current minimum crewing level that United Airlines has secured for its Boeing 787 fleet, including the larger 787-10 model, as well as Delta’s similarly sized Airbus A330, which are certified to be operated with a minimum of six crew members (two less than the number of emergency exits onboard).
As an international point of comparison, the Boeing 787 can be operated in Europe with just six crew members, although this is generally only reserved for situations where flight attendants have been taken sick and a replacement crew member can’t be found.
“APFA has rejected—and continues to fight against—the reduction of the minimum crew on the 787-9P to seven (7) Flight Attendants, regardless of what competing airline management deems ‘safe,'” the union told its members in a recent memo.
“Such a reckless decision would leave a single Flight Attendant solely responsible for evacuating both rear doors (4L and 4R) in an emergency, putting lives at risk and blatantly disregarding the safety culture American claims to support,” the memo continued.
The union slammed: “Recent decisions appear focused on operating flights with the lowest possible Flight Attendant staffing, a direction that contrasts sharply with the “safety first” culture that Inflight management claims to uphold.”
Last month, the union also blasted American Airlines over its decision to improve onboard service without increasing the number of flight attendants on some aircraft types.
In a bid to become more premium, American Airlines plans to reverse some COVID-era cutbacks, including a second beverage service on all domestic flights over 1,500 miles.
The airline also wants to improve the inflight experience for passengers in the Main Cabin on international flights to premium destinations like London or Paris by introducing a pre-meal beverage service rather than a combined meal and drink service, which has become the norm.
In October 2020, however, American Airlines slashed the number of flight attendants required on some routes and aircraft. For example, Boeing 773-300 aircraft flying to premium international destinations lost two crew members, while all other aircraft types that operate international, premium transcontinental, and premium services in Hawaii lost one crew member.
Along with certification issues for minimum crewing levels, American Airlines has yet to get the sliding doors on its Flagship business class seats certified for use by the FAA. As a result, the doors must remain locked open during the entire flight.
American Airlines is said to be proactively offering passengers compensation while it works to secure the necessary certification.
I was on the inaugural flight from Chicago to Los Angeles and return. Service was spirited and the crew enthusiastic. However, I would not go so far as to describe it as attentive in my business class seat. I cannot imagine cutting back even one crew member based on my two flights.