American Air offers $1,000 bounties to firm holiday staffing

American Airlines Group Inc. is offering $1,000 bonuses and several times normal pay to employees for the holidays to avoid a repeat of staffing shortages that contributed to thousands of flight cancellations recently.

Mechanics, reservations agents, baggage handlers and some others will receive the cash reward for perfect attendance on all days they’re scheduled to work from Nov. 15 through Jan. 2, the airline told employees Monday. Flight attendants, including those on call, can earn a 150% pay premium if they work on specific high-demand days, and another 150% for no absences over the holiday period. The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier is negotiating with its pilots union on possible incentives.

American is making sure that November and December flight schedules “are built to meet customer demand and that they are fully supportable by our staffing,” the carrier told employees.

U.S. airlines are under pressure to ensure smooth operations over what could be the busiest holiday travel period since the pandemic started in March 2020. Carriers are ramping up hiring to replace workers who took early retirement or buyouts when lockdowns gutted travel. About 2,600 American Airlines flight attendants will return from leave this month and next.  

“These incentives show that American is willing to pay up now in order to avoid operational meltdowns during peak periods,” Ravi Shanker, a Morgan Stanley analyst, said in a report. “These incentives are also likely to be less expensive” for American than the cost of widespread flight disruptions.

American canceled about 2,400 flights from Oct. 29 through Nov. 1 when bad weather at its Texas hub stranded planes and flight crews in the wrong cities. Southwest Airlines Co. angered customers when it scrapped 3,100 flights over four days in October. The Dallas-based carrier, which said it needed to hire more workers to ward off future disruptions, has slimmed its flight schedule for the rest of the year.