United Airlines Revives Controversial AI Scheduling Plan for Flight Attendants Months Crew Thought They Had Killed It Off
- United Airlines shocked flight attendants when it announced a slew of previously rejected concessions were back on the bargaining table as negotiators try to thrash out a new contract.
Flight attendants at United Airlines were left stunned on Thursday evening when the Chicago-based carrier revealed that it was once again pushing to let artificial intelligence dictate their working schedules.
The announcement was surprising, given that United had been forced to abandon its AI scheduling system in April following a backlash from flight attendants and their union, which had vehemently opposed the new software.
United Sends Surprise Email To Flight Attendants
In July, United’s flight attendants rejected a long-awaited new contract after years of protracted negotiations. The rejected tentative agreement – known internally as TA1 – contained assurances from United that it would not replace the existing bidding and scheduling system.
But now that United and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) are back around the bargaining table and trying to hammer out an updated tentative agreement that crew members will accept, the airline is once again pushing to update the scheduling system.
In an email sent on Thursday and reviewed by PYOK, United told tens of thousands of flight attendants that it had begun a “joint process with AFA to modernize bidding in a way that gives flight attendants more say in their schedules and more flexibility around what they value most.”
Just months after promising not to update the current bidding and scheduling system, United is back trying to get the change written into the new contract.
What is a Preferential Bidding System?
The bidding and scheduling software that United wants to introduce is known as a Preferential Bidding System (PBS), and it’s the type of rostering program that is already in use at many airlines across the United States and around the world.
Flight attendants who use a PBS system place ‘bids’ each month for their preferred destinations, layovers, days off, and the aircraft they want to work on. They can also set other preferences, like avoiding early morning flights or red-eyes.
The idea is that crew members tell the system exactly what their preferences are so that schedules match their lifestyle.
Once set, these bids are analyzed by the PBS system, and algorithms dictate working schedules against the airline’s operational needs.
What’s important to remember is that the airline’s operational needs always take precedent. The system will ensure that every flight is correctly staffed, even if that means it has to ignore every preference that a flight attendant has set in their bid.
Why Are United’s Flight Attendants So Opposed to PBS?
United’s flight attendants have long used a much older line bidding system in which they bid in seniority order for pre-constructed trips.
Each month, flight attendants can see exactly what trips are up for grabs, and they can bid for the trips that most suit their needs. Newer flight attendants who don’t have a lot of seniority will know which trips are likely out of reach and will choose their own bid accordingly.
The union is opposed to PBS because it lacks the extreme transparency of the line bidding system. If a flight attendant doesn’t secure their bids, it’s pretty much impossible to determine why the system constructed their schedule as it did.
United had been pushing to introduce PBS in contract negotiations for a long time, but in April, the union secured a “milestone” side letter to put the proposal to bed.
At the time, the union said this was a “significant step forward” in reaching a tentative agreement that could be put before flight attendants for a vote.
What Else Was Discussed In Contract Talks?
The union has slammed the return of PBS to contract talks, describing United’s new demands for concessions as “concerning.”
“Incredibly, management came into this week’s negotiations with a list of concessions, all of which we rejected in TA1,” the union said in a memo. “The proposals would reduce the value of the TA. Any illusions that management is sitting there with a better offer in their pocket should be dispelled. “
The union is fighting for better pay for flight attendants, but United doesn’t want the overall value of the deal voted on in TA1 to increase. As a result, United says it will only accept improvements in some areas of TA2 if the union accepts concessions in others.
The two sides have just wrapped up a week of bargaining in Chicago, and despite United’s surprise email on Thursday, the union says that improvements were actually made in some areas.
“Much of the discussion this week centered on pushing our non-economic improvements, which include changes to hotel language, electronic notification, and other provisions of concern,” the memo added. “We have resolved a number of these issues.”
Bargaining is now suspended for the Christmas and New Year period and won’t now resume until mid-January 2026, where the tricky subject of economic improvements will be discussed.
It could still be a long time before United’s flight attendants get to vote on a new tentative agreement.
Bottom Line
It’s been more than four years since United’s flight attendant contract became amendable, and despite a tentative agreement being reached in the summer, a final contract is still no closer to being reached.
With the crew union fighting for better wages in the latest contract talks, United is using the opportunity to push for a slew of concessions, including a controversial preferential bidding system.
