How Could the American Airlines Strike Impact Summer Travel?

During summer, many families do lots of traveling, which often means flying.

American Airlines

Of course, you know to prepare for potential delays and cancelations, but there’s another storm brewing that could potentially affect flights coming up, and that’s a strike. American Airlines flight attendants could be striking — what does that mean for your summer travel?

According to CNBC, the labor union that represents American Airlines flight attendants rejected a deal on Wednesday that offered flight attendants an immediate 17% pay increase and a new formula that would increase profit sharing.

©American Airlines

The airline and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (the union) have struggled to reach an agreement, disagreeing on many major points, one of which is pay. Talks have been continuing without a deal, bringing the possibility of a strike closer. Reportedly, the union has warned flight attendants to prepare for a strike.

©American Airlines

Both sides are scheduled to meet with federal mediators next week as a last-ditch effort to come to an agreement. Strikes among of flight attendants are quite rare, with the last one happening back in 2010 with Spirit Airlines pilots. If they can’t come to an agreement, however, a strike will occur.

American Airlines

So why did the union reject the deal? Well, Julie Hedrick, the union’s national president said in a statement that “the airline’s focus should be on preparing a longer-term deal with the flight attendants” and that the deal they were offered was not that. In short, a quick pay increase did not address all the issues they were bringing to the table, including the ones that require longer-term solutions.

©Nick Oxford/Reuters

But what does this mean for your summer travel? The “good” news is that if a strike is called, the federal mediators would send out an official release, which would take several weeks. This means it would potentially hit toward the end of summer travel, which still isn’t ideal, but would buy travelers a little bit of time.

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