Southwest Airlines on Saturday supplied its flight attendants new incentives aimed toward avoiding extra flight cancellations, notably over the height vacation interval, amid considerations over staffing, in accordance with an inner memo.
Southwest canceled greater than 2,000 flights round Columbus Day weekend, disruptions the air provider mentioned value it $75 million. American Airlines, which can also be providing flight attendants and different crews further pay for vacation shifts, struggled with mass flight cancellations late final month and in early November as properly.
Flight attendants, pilots and different operations staff might obtain as much as 120,000 Speedy Rewards factors, valued at greater than $1,400. Flight attendants are eligible for working 36 days between Nov. 15 and Jan. 14, whereas cabin crews who work 28 days over that interval might get 60,000 factors, the notice said. Southwest mentioned that the variety of qualifying shifts or days varies by work group.
The variety of no-shows or unreachable flight attendants has been elevated lately, Southwest’s vp of Sonya Lacore, vp of inflight operations, mentioned in her notice to cabin crews, which was reviewed by CNBC. Sick calls have surged as properly when the corporate has lifted emergency insurance policies that required flight attendants to point out a physician’s notice if calling out ailing. For instance, Lacore mentioned when the airline final lifted these procedures on Nov. 9 sick calls went from 20 an hour to 90 an hour for 2 hours in a row.
“We’ve an amazing alternative right here to uphold that dedication to them, and also you, within the midst of what has been a troublesome time for us all,” wrote Lacore. “Our first step in addressing this, and actively working to guard the operation, was to scale back the schedule, and we consider this incentive program will take us one other step in the suitable course.”
The airline can also be providing as a lot as triple pay to floor operations staff for working Thanksgiving and Christmas and double pay for additional time shifts between Nov. 17 by means of Nov. 30 and Dec. 17 by means of Jan. 3, up from time-and-a-half pay.
Airways had supplied workers early retirement packages and leaves of absence to chop their labor payments through the pandemic however discovered themselves short-staffed when demand bounced again this yr. Extra flight attendants are returning to American and Southwest from go away, whereas these airways and others are additionally aggressively hiring.
