Delta Makes a Concession to Flight Attendants

Delta Air Lines is making a concession to flight attendants in an apparent conciliatory move to stem the growing movement to unionize the crew.

The Atlanta-based carrier said in a company memo seen by NBC News that it will begin paying its flight attendants when boarding begins on each flight – a process than can take 30-60 minutes – instead of traditionally when the aircraft doors close and the plane is ready for departure, as virtually the entire industry does.

Delta will pay flight attendants half of their hourly rate during the boarding process. The move will go into effect on June 2.

NBC News also noted that Delta will increase boarding time on narrow-body flights to 40 minutes. It had been 35 minutes, another move the carrier said is “one of several steps we’re taking to add resiliency to our operation.”

Whether it’s enough to sway Delta’s 20,000 flight attendants from joining a union remains to be seen. Flight attendants began galvanizing to unionize in 2019 but the movement was interrupted by COVID-19’s devastating effect on the aviation industry.

But now that the pandemic is beginning to wane, and in light of the increased focus on what flight attendants have gone through the last two years with an unheard-of amount of incidents by unruly passengers, the focus on forming a union is back.