Flight attendants at a regional carrier used by United Airlines have secured a tentative labor agreement after months of federally mediated negotiations, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) announced on Friday.
Mesa Air employs around 560 flight attendants who work regional flights on behalf of United Airlines under its United Express brand but are paid, on average, 45% less than crew members who are directly employed by the Chicago-based carrier.
The Association of Flight Attendants has slammed the regional airline model, in which the big three US carriers, made up of American Airlines and Delta, alongside United, contract out their shorter regional flights to third-party airlines.
While Mesa Air is responsible for hiring and paying its flight attendants, the union claims their wages are ultimately controlled by United Airlines, which drives down salaries and working conditions through this ‘exploitive’ business model.
Sara Nelson, the president of the AFA-CWA, has been a vocal critic of what she describes as the ‘two-tier’ employment model in which regional flight attendants often find themselves struggling to make ends meet while crew members working for the mainline carrier earn nearly double the amount of money for doing the same job.
The situation at Mesa Air has been even more complicated, given the fact that in April, the 40-year-old airline agreed to merge with rival regional carrier Republic Airways.
Merger talks followed Mesa’s loss of a major contract with American Airlines in 2022, leaving United as its sole customer. As part of the merger agreement, United has agreed to a 10-year extension to its contract with Mesa.
Ultimately, the union would like to see the end of salary tiers in aviation, although it doesn’t look like this tentative agreement has quite achieved that aim.
In a short statement, the union said: “We are thrilled to announce we have reached a tentative agreement that matches Republic wages… We worked hard to reach an agreement that provides immediate financial relief and best positions us to achieve more alongside Republic Flight Attendants if the merger is approved.”
Details are still being finalized over the Labor Day Weekend, although the union is hopeful that it can lock everything in place for further details to be shared on Tuesday.
Matt’s take
Some people view the regional airline model as a stepping stone for aspiring pilots and flight attendants to gain the necessary experience and flying hours before moving to mainline counterparts.
As such, it makes sense that aircrew at regional carriers are paid a lot less, and that their reward for toughing it out at a regional carrier is a massive pay rise when they get hired at a mainline carrier.
There is, however, growing disquiet about this model, and the assumption that a regional carrier should just be a stepping stone. After all, aircrew at these carriers do the same jobs as their counterparts at mainline airlines.
Of course, it makes sense that pay rates might differ from one airline to another, but airlines like United are accused of deliberately contracting out regional flying to third-party carriers in order to boost their profits at the expense of workers.
