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Animats

Their normal pay is $13-$16/hour.[1]

[1] https://everydayaviation.com/spirit-airlines-flight-attendan...

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Wow and I think as well they're only paid when they're actually on an aircraft?

At least in Canada, it is sometimes only when in the air. They do not seem to be paid for boarding time.

> It's industry standard for flight attendants' pay to be based on the time from wheels up to wheels down, although most airlines also provide some compensation for the time flight attendants spend at airports before and after flights. WestJet does not, and it's become a sticking point with flight attendants as minimum wages rise across the country.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/westjet-minimum-wage-cupe-c...

That is unbelievable. I am already furious when I am stuck sitting on the tarmac pre/post flight "do nothing". Cannot imagine how angry I would be if I was at work but not getting paid for it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_wages

This seeps into the unskilled-adjacent industries (like foodservice, on the ground or in the air) because approximately ~anyone can be trained up to do the job.

A lot of flight attendants are unionized. I'm sure flight attendants bake it into their effective wage and not worry about it.

I do wonder if this odd arrangement would work for non-union jobs since you're clearly working as soon as they want you at the airport.

Being unionised just means you can collectively ask for what you want. It doesn't mean you necessarily get it. I'm sure they're not massively happy being paid $12 an hour either, but by your argument they are?

My argument is that they're happy enough with "wheels up" pay because that's how things work, and if airlines started paying for time at the airport, they'd make the same, just at a lower wage.

I am surprised that this is legal. I mean that would be like paying developers only if they sit in front of the keyboard and not for the meetings.

I’ll fairly sure that this is illegal, but I guess anybody who pushed the issue would stop getting called in to work

Some are only paid duty pay when on an aircraft with the door closed.

Not even that, actually. It's usually "block hours", meaning the clock roughly starts/stops when the cabin door opens/shuts.

So when they're standing greeting you and wishing you farewell at the door they're doing that for free?

At most airlines, yes. Also managing all the boarding angst, complaints about overhead bins, etc.

How is that legal?

Not sure, though there is more to it. There's also usually a smaller hourly per-diem that isn't bounded by block hours. And seniority drives pay. If you stick to it, it does eventually pay higher than many other jobs that don't require a college degree.

Spirit probably isn't the best example either. Some other airlines provide much higher starting wages, and things like profit sharing.

One big upside of the pandemic is seeing it disturb the labor supply so much that employers are having to negotiate pay in the lowest paid jobs.

$50/hr after ten years. That's crazy! But I guess that type of seniority preference is typical among union jobs.

Making this a very easy decision for the airline, especially when you look at the total cost of flights.

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