Summary
- Flight attendants at Frontier Airlines are concerned about new operational changes impacting their salaries and routine.
- Frontier is moving toward a European-style model to have its planes back to their stations every night.
- The airline’s new approach minimizes overnight stays for flight attendants, affecting their take-home pay.
Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines’ flight attendants are not happy about the new changes in its operations that will see its aircraft fly back to their stations every night. The crew members are worried about how this would affect their salaries apart from making other lifestyle adjustments.
Opposing operational changes
As Frontier Airlines tries to return to sustainable profitability by making significant changes to its operational strategies, it is also facing opposition from flight attendants who view the move as a threat to their existing salary structure and routine.
Reuters has seen the letter to Frontier CEO Barry Biffle by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) union, which said it is filing a notice of dispute under the Railway Labor Act. It remains to be seen how this plays out in the coming days.
Photo: The Toidi | Shutterstock
The issue relates to Frontier deciding to follow a European style ‘our & back’ model, in which almost all of its aircraft will return to their stations every night. This is being done to reduce the instances of flight cancelations and delays.
According to the report, Frontier expects to save $200 million this year after implementing these changes as part of its larger vision to achieve double-digit profits by 2025. The carrier’s CEO said last year that they are trying to operate similarly to some European carriers that have their planes return to the base every night, resulting in far fewer moving pieces to be balanced for efficient daily operations.
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Frontier CEO Targets European-Style ‘Out & Back’ Model By Spring ’24
This change could heavily impact the carrier’s operations.
A dip in salary
But while aircraft can be deployed without resistance, the new changes are being met with opposition from flight attendants. A significant portion of the crew’s salary is determined from layovers and overnight stays.
Photo: nyker | Shutterstock
Frontier has traditionally had many services involving multi-day trips for crew members with two to three overnight stays. However, with the new strategy of the aircraft arriving at the base every night, the flight attendants are staring at a significant reduction in their allowances. Reuters quotes the union’s head, Jennifer Sala, as saying,
“The morale here has been very low. The anxiety of the flight attendants has been very high in trying to figure this out for themselves.”
The letter, dated April 3, also said,
“The changed business model includes changes not contemplated in the collective bargaining agreement and impacts all aspects of a flight attendant’s work life.”
Sustainable profitability
As mentioned above, Frontier Airlines is trying to improve its profit margins and has also been introducing other changes to its business model. Earlier this month, the carrier announced the introduction of UpFront Plus, a new upgraded seating option that leaves the middle seat in the first two rows vacant.
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The carrier continues to expand its ever-growing route network
The carrier offered an introductory price of $49 to passengers who want a guaranteed free armrest on one side and more legroom. It’ll be interesting to see how much these new changes translate into the airline’s profits next year.
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