American Airlines’ flight attendants are being forced to undergo a training course on how to sell credit cards, and the union isn’t happy about this, claiming that the company is trying to redefine their jobs. Does the union have a point, or are they overreacting?
Union Accuses American of “Redefining” Jobs with Credit Card Training
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), which represents American’s more than 30,000 flight attendants, has issued an interesting memo. As anyone who has been following the airline industry knows, the major US carriers earn a large percentage of their profits (or at least reduce their losses) through their loyalty programs, which are extremely lucrative.
On American, flight attendants have long had the opportunity to promote credit cards onboard, and they can earn a commission if their “sales” lead to successful applications. American is trying to improve its financial performance, and as part of that, the airline is encouraging flight attendants to be more consistent about onboard credit card pitches.
As part of this effort, the airline is now making it mandatory for flight attendants to complete an online training module about credit card sales. Failure to complete this module could lead to dismissal. The core issue is that being trained on credit cards is no longer voluntary — it is now required. That said, actually promoting credit cards onboard remains optional and is left to individual flight attendants.
The union is claiming this new training module violates the collective bargaining agreement, stating that “our Scope is one of our most important protections” and that “it is what prevents management from redefining what a Flight Attendant is and what they can be required to do on a whim.”
American is also rolling out a new flight attendant scoring system called Me@Work. One of the factors intended to be displayed in this system will be the number of successful credit card applications attributed to each flight attendant.
Is American Management Right, or Does the Union Have a Point?
The union is within its rights to challenge anything beyond the scope of the collective bargaining agreement. However, it’s worth examining whether this situation truly falls into that category:
- Management isn’t forcing any flight attendant to promote or sell credit cards, as that remains entirely voluntary
- American is only requiring flight attendants to be trained on what they need to know in the event they do choose to promote credit cards, and to make them aware of the potential commission upside
- Historically, one of the issues with flight attendant credit card pitches is that they have been highly inaccurate, with many flight attendants taking considerable liberties; the credit card industry has strict rules around how products can and cannot be promoted, and those rules should extend to airline representatives as well
Based on the situation, the union appears to be overreacting. It would be understandable to push back if flight attendants were being forced to actively promote credit cards, but requiring training on something many flight attendants already choose to participate in doesn’t seem unreasonable.
The argument of “if they require this, what else could they require in the future?” is understandable, but credit card co-brand revenue is now a massive part of the airline business model. Without AAdvantage, American Airlines would very likely have posted losses in recent years.
Bottom Line
American flight attendants are now required to undergo training for promoting credit cards, regardless of whether they intend to actually do so — even though the promotion itself remains voluntary and commission-based. The union argues this crosses a line established by the collective bargaining agreement, while management’s position is that requiring training is not the same as requiring sales. Whether or not the union’s legal challenge succeeds, the dispute highlights just how central co-brand credit card revenue has become to the financial health of major US airlines.
What do you make of this complaint from the American flight attendant union?
