Flight delays and cancellations can be frustrating and inconvenient for both passengers and airline crew members. Passengers may miss connecting flights or important events, while airline employees like pilots and flight attendants can face schedule disruptions and questions about compensation.
Quick Answers
- Flight attendants typically get paid only when the airplane door is closed and they are providing in-flight service.
- Delays before or after a flight will usually be unpaid for flight attendants.
- Cancellations typically result in no pay for time spent waiting at the airport.
- Airlines handle pay for delays and cancellations differently, based on policies in flight attendant labor contracts.
- Flight attendants may have options like using personal days or swapping assignments to help offset unpaid time from delays or cancellations.
When a flight is delayed or cancelled, airline crew members face uncertainty about how it will impact their pay and work schedules. Let’s take a closer look at how major U.S. airlines handle compensation for flight attendants when flights are disrupted.
Do Flight Attendants Get Paid for Delays?
In most cases, flight attendants do not get paid when flights are delayed. Here are some key considerations regarding flight attendant pay and delays:
- Flight attendants are typically only paid for hours performing in-flight duties on the aircraft. This is known as “block time” – the period from when the aircraft door is closed after boarding to when it is opened at the destination.
- Delays that occur before boarding or after deplaning are usually unpaid for flight attendants.
- If a delay occurs after boarding but before takeoff, attendants may or may not get paid, depending on the airline’s contract policies.
- Lengthy tarmac delays with passengers on board will be paid, as flight attendants are performing safety and service duties.
So unless a delay occurs after the door is closed, flight attendants generally do not get paid for that time. Airlines consider delayed hours as a “no flying” event for pay purposes.
Flight Cancellations and Pay
For flight attendants, a cancellation typically results in no pay for their time spent at the airport. Here’s how cancellations can impact their compensation:
- If a cancellation occurs before attendants have reported to the airport, they receive no pay for the lost flight time.
- For cancellations after they have reported, they receive no pay for time spent waiting at the airport before the flight was cancelled.
- If a flight is cancelled after boarding, attendants may receive partial “show pay” for reporting as scheduled.
- Once a cancellation occurs, attendants are released with no obligation to be on reserve status.
So in most cancellation scenarios, flight attendants receive zero pay for the scheduled flight hours they have lost. The only exception is if a contract has a “show pay” provision to compensate for some of the wasted time at the airport.
Airline Policies on Pay for Delays and Cancellations
As flight disruptions are an inevitable part of airline operations, union contracts establish clear guidelines on how attendants will be paid when delays or cancellations occur. Here are the general policies at some major U.S. airlines:
Delta Air Lines
- No pay for delays less than 2 hours after scheduled departure time
- 50% pay for 2+ hour delays after scheduled departure time
- Full pay only after aircraft door has been closed
- Cancellations result in no pay
American Airlines
- No pay for delays under 4 hours
- Hourly pay after 4+ hour delays
- Full pay after door close
- 2 hours “show pay” for cancellations after reporting for duty
United Airlines
- No pay for delays under 6 hours
- Hourly pay after 6+ hour delays
- Full pay after door closure
- No pay for cancellations before reporting
- 2 hours “show pay” if cancellation occurs after reporting
Southwest Airlines
- No pay for delays
- Full pay only after door close
- No pay for cancellations
As shown above, there can be wide variances in flight attendant pay policies for delays and cancellations across different airlines.
Reserve Duty and “On Call” Time
When not assigned to a specific flight, flight attendants may serve reserve duty – essentially being “on call” to fill in if needed. Airlines handle pay for reserve duty and on call time differently:
- Some airlines pay attendants a reduced hourly rate for reserve duty or on call hours.
- At other airlines, reserve and on call hours are unpaid unless the attendant is called to cover an actual flight.
- If reserve crew are not assigned a flight, they receive no pay for those hours on call.
- If activated for a flight assignment, they then begin earning their normal pay rates.
Flight attendants on reserve status face high uncertainty of actually being utilized, and pay policies reflect this “waiting time.”
Recouping Lost Wages from Delays or Cancellations
Since flight attendants do not earn their normal wages when flights are delayed or cancelled, they can experience significant lost income over the course of a month. To help offset unpaid hours, they may have options such as:
- Using personal/vacation days – Attendants can apply paid time off to recover some lost wages from disrupted flights.
- Bidding on extra flights – Some attendants may pick up additional flight assignments to supplement their schedule and pay.
- Trading assignments – Attendants can trade flights to get scheduled on busier routes with more potential work hours.
- Applying monthly minimum guarantees – Contracts may guarantee a minimum number of paid hours per month to help smooth out scheduling disruptions.
While delays and cancellations are frustrating and costly events, flight attendants do have options to help mitigate the impact on their total pay. Their union contracts also protect them from some of the harshest consequences of unpredictable airline operations.
Flight Attendant Pay System
To understand why flight delays and cancellations impact attendants differently than pilots, it helps to know how their compensation systems differ:
- Pilots – Paid based on overall flight time and block time from door closing at departure to opening at arrival. Therefore, much of a pilot’s pay is protected in delays or cancellations.
- Flight Attendants – Only paid for time performing onboard service duties once the cabin door is closed. Unpaid during boarding delays or after deplaning.
This key difference in pay structures leaves attendants much more vulnerable to wage losses from operational disruptions. Their duties are confined to in-flight work periods versus the front-to-back responsibility of pilots.
Why Aren’t Flight Attendants Paid for Delays/Cancellations?
There are a few primary reasons causing flight attendants not to receive their typical pay when flights are delayed or cancelled:
- Duty limitations – Attendants can only work a certain number of hours in a day and per week, mandated for safety. Airlines avoid paying for idle hours on the ground that provide no in-flight service time.
- Cost control – Airlines strive to control labor costs by limiting paid time to safety-critical active flight duties only.
- Market competition – Other airlines don’t pay for delays/cancellations, so carriers feel pressure to follow suit to remain cost competitive.
- Union contracts – Agreements between airlines and attendant unions determine pay rules and policies during disruptions.
The bottom line reason is cost reduction. Airlines and unions have negotiated pay provisions that minimize labor expenses for delays and cancellations that generate no flight time revenue.
Pay Protection Options
Could airlines change their pay policies to compensate attendants more consistently during flight disruptions? Here are some options that have been proposed or implemented on a limited basis:
- “Show up” or “report” pay – Pay a minimum fixed amount (e.g. 2-4 hours) if attendants report as scheduled but flight is cancelled.
- Short delay pay – Pay 50% normal wages for delays up to X hours from scheduled departure.
- Long delay pay – Pay hourly wage for lengthy delays beyond X hours from scheduled departure.
- Cancellation pay – Pay attendants for some percentage of originally scheduled flight hours when cancellations occur.
- Reserve duty pay – Provide minimum pay for reserve crew on call but not assigned a flight.
While these measures could help attendants recoup more lost income, they would also raise costs for airlines – something they have heavily resisted in contract negotiations. But improved pay protections remain an ongoing goal for flight attendant unions.
Operational Issues Beyond Flight Attendant Control
It’s important for passengers to understand that delayed and cancelled flights are overwhelmingly due to factors outside flight attendant control. Here are some major causes of flight disruptions:
- Weather events like storms, winds or reduced visibility
- Air traffic and airport congestion
- Mechanical problems with the aircraft
- Scheduled maintenance issues
- Airline crew availability due to earlier disruptions
- Airline scheduling and operational decisions
Attendants have no say in these operational issues that lead to delayed and cancelled flights. They are in the same position as passengers – simply waiting out situations they did not cause. That helps explain why airlines avoid paying attendants for these types of unavoidable service disruptions.
Key Takeaways
To summarize the key points on flight attendant pay when flights are delayed or cancelled:
- Flight attendants only get paid while providing in-flight service duties once the cabin door closes after boarding.
- Most delays result in unpaid time for attendants waiting to depart or deplane.
- Cancellations typically lead to zero pay if attendants are released without protections like “show up” pay.
- Reserve crew receive little or no pay if not assigned actual flight duty.
- Attendants have contract options like minimum pay guarantees, trading flights, and using vacation time to help offset lost wages.
- Different airlines have varying policies, but most share similar approaches to limiting paid time not performing onboard duties.
- Flight disruptions are largely out of attendants’ control, though they bear much of the cost burden.
While lost income from delays and cancellations is frustrating, flight attendants understand unpredictable events are inevitable in airline operations. Their priority is maintaining safety and security during any type of flight disruption. Supportive passengers also make a positive difference in difficult situations beyond the crew’s control.
Conclusion
Flight attendants provide a critical service ensuring passenger comfort, safety and security. But when flights are delayed or cancelled, they face pay losses and scheduling uncertainty. Airlines strictly limit their paid time to actual in-flight duties only, once the cabin door closes. This leaves attendants vulnerable to wage reductions from disruptions they did not cause and cannot control. To help manage lost income, union contracts provide pay protections like minimum monthly guarantees, trading options and personal days. But attendants would benefit from improved pay continuity provisions during inevitable flight delays and cancellations. Their roles require availability at airports based on unpredictable schedules. More consistent pay to reflect that commitment would benefit this dedicated airline workforce serving the traveling public.