American Airlines Flight Attendants ‘Blast’ CEO Robert Isom In New Vote Of No Confidence
Representing more than 28,000 crew members at American Airlines, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) on Monday issued a unanimous vote of no confidence in the Texas-based carrier’s embattled chief executive, Robert Isom, saying that the “time for excuses” is over.
In a statement, the union said it had taken the “necessary step of issuing a unanimous vote of no confidence in CEO Robert Isom.”
“Our airline is falling dangerously behind its competitors, and the current leadership has failed to change course,” the statement added.
Led by national union president Julie Hedrick, the APFA board presented their reasoning in simple terms: After profit plunged by 84% in 2025 from the preceding year, they fear that the airline’s finances will continue to nosedive unless radical action at the very top is taken.
“Many of us have already lived through bankruptcies, wage and work rule concessions, and years of instability at American and its predecessor airlines. We know how this works,” a statement from the union explained.
“We are not interested in being asked, yet again, to sacrifice or bail out a company that continues to reward failed leadership while falling further behind.”
Pressure continues to mount on Isom, 59, who narrowly avoided a similar vote of no confidence from the Allied Pilots Association (APA), whose leadership chose to demand the opportunity to address the airline’s board of directors, following a meeting leading into the weekend.
Who is Robert Isom?
Born in 1967, Isom was raised just outside of Detroit and was educated at the University of Notre Dame and then the University of Michigan, where he earned an MBA.
Isom started his career in the aviation industry at Northwest Airlines before moving to America West Airlines, where he led a major restructuring. He briefly led the airline business before returning as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of US Airways.
When US Airways merged with American Airlines, Isom became responsible for all aspects of the combined airline’s operations, including customer service, flight operations, maintenance, regional carrier management, cargo, safety, and security.
When veteran chief executive Doug Parker stepped down in 2023, Isom was selected as his replacement, although his time at the top has proven to be controversial.
That request was rejected, and the board instead chose to offer Isom to address the pilot union directly.
In a leaked letter to the APA board, Isom wrote: “The Board and I are aligned with you in the desire to make American the strongest airline possible in every respect. We discussed your letter at length and agreed that, as a member of the board and CEO, it is most appropriate that I get together with you, your leadership team, or the APA Board of Directors – whatever is best – as soon as possible.”
“I appreciate the opportunity to address the items outlined in your letter and the specifics you relayed to me personally regarding our handling of Winter Storms Fern and Gianna; American’s focus on pilot attendance policies; and our business plan to return American to its rightful place atop the industry.”
American’s financial performance in recent years has significantly lagged its two main rivals, Delta and United Airlines, and many unions pin the blame on Isom’s strategy to turn the carrier’s domestic and network into its main differentiator.
Isom embarked on a cost-cutting mission, ripping out TV screens from domestic airliners just as its rivals were doing the exact opposite. American chose to compete on price, while Delta and United pursued higher-yield premium passengers.
The strategy adopted by Delta and United has proven to be incredibly successful, while airlines competing on price continue to lag financially.
There are very real signs that American Airlines knows it went in the wrong direction. Isom says the carrier is focused on improving its premium proposition, but unions fear that he is the wrong person to lead the significant change that is required to turn American Airlines around.
In 2024, the perceived architect of American’s failed strategy, Vasu Raja, was ushered out for what the APFA describes as a “high-profile sales and distribution debacle that set American back years and alienated thousands of high-revenue customers and businesses.”
Despite this, however, Vasu continued to receive $462,000 in base pay for seven months and was awarded a $1 million lump sum severance – a decision that infuriated unions.
What’s next? So far, Isom has shown no signs of handing the baton to a new leader, while the reaction of the airline’s board of directors to the pilot union seemingly shows that it has no interest in ousting Isom.
But on Monday, APFA said it would be meeting with other unions to “demand accountability, improved operational support, and leadership change at American Airlines.”
Hedrick made it clear that this means one thing: replacing Robert Isom.
