Alaska Airways flight attendants get double pay to choose up shifts

Alaska Airlines is providing flight attendants double pay to choose up further journeys this spring in hopes of avoiding staffing shortfalls forward of a good larger leap in journey demand within the coming months.

Airways rolled out incentives such as bonuses and up to triple pay to pilots and flight attendants late final yr to stem staffing shortfalls through the busy year-end holidays, however a wave of Covid omicron infections nonetheless sidelined crew members, contributing to hundreds of flight cancellations.

Alaska’s provide reveals the service is prepared to pay crews extra to keep away from flight disruptions from staffing shortfalls, an issue that may rapidly unfold by an airline’s community.

“Like many different airways, we face normal staffing challenges,” Alaska stated in an announcement. “In response, we’re providing flight attendants pay incentives to fill gaps in staffing for a brief time frame this Spring.”

The airline has not too long ago employed and skilled 165 new flight attendants and plans to deliver 700 extra on board this June. It had greater than 5,500 flight attendants as of the tip of 2021. Alaska is the fifth-largest U.S. service with greater than 120 locations in North America and hubs on the West Coast and in Alaska.

The Seattle-based airline approached the flight attendants’ union in regards to the incentive pay, in keeping with a word to cabin crews despatched Friday.

American Airlines, which goals to rent some 18,000 people this yr, and Southwest Airlines, which has targeted 8,000 new employees in 2022, stated they are not presently providing related incentives to Alaska’s.

Airline executives final week stated journey demand has bounced again sooner than they anticipated. In February, bookings and gross sales surpassed pre-pandemic levels for the primary time, in keeping with Adobe information, and airport safety screenings this week hit the best since Thanksgiving.

They stated they count on that development to assist offset a pointy rise in gasoline costs this yr, although some carriers, together with Alaska, have trimmed their schedules in response to the upper prices. The airline, nonetheless, stated it expects to be again to pre-Covid capability by the summer season.

Alaska executives will define its plans for the approaching yr in an investor day on Thursday.