Addressing Flight Attendant Concerns, Alaska Airlines Cuts Some Onboard Services

Addressing the concerns of its flight attendants, Alaska Airlines is cutting some of its onboard services through the end of January to help quell to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

The new strain of the COVID-19 virus is less severe than the original and of the Delta variant, but it is more transmissible. It has led to a record number of positive cases across the world and, for airlines, the leading cause of staff members calling in sick resulting in unprecedented delays and cancellations over the last two-plus weeks.

The Association of Flight Attendants union expressed reservations about Omicron and its high transmissibility rate to officials at Alaska Airlines, particularly with onboard services. So, according to the airline industry blog ‘Paddle Your Own Kanoo,’ written by veteran flight attendant Mateusz Maszczynski, Alaska has reversed course.

Last week, the carrier decided to limit in-flight services to just one beverage service in the main cabin on all flights, and no meal service at all on medium-haul trips. For now, the new edict will last through January and be re-evaluated.

Paddle Your Own Kanoo also reported that Alaska will cut back on the number of its pre-ordered meals from 63 to 42 per flight on long-haul trips and flights to Hawaii.

Jeffrey Peterson, president of the Alaska Airlines branch of the flight attendant union, said flight attendants wanted to reduce the amount of time they interacted with passengers to thusly reduce the chance of transmission of the virus.