United Flight Attendants Enjoy Triple Pay During Fourth of July Holiday

United Airlines went to a tried-and-true method to help combat the chaos of the July 4th weekend.

When in doubt, turn to a flight attendant.

United paid triple time compensation to any flight attendant who worked on their day off or worked extra shifts to help during the chaos spawned by the weather on the East Coast over the Independence Day holiday. And with the holiday falling on a Tuesday, it was a particularly long week.

It’s not the first time United has utilized that strategy and it probably won’t be the last since the East Coast is littered with popular airports from Boston to Florida, including three in New York alone.

In addition to paying some flight attendants triple their wages, United offered any passenger who was affected by the delays a voucher worth 30,000 miles.

But the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union said more needs to be done in what was described as an aggressive response. In particular, the union is looking for more of a permanent plan for these situations, instead of stop-gap measures.

“Every minute wasted in their decision-making is a minute too late for recovery and delivering the public reliable, efficient air travel,” the union said.