Source: New York Times
Author: Jeff Bailey

CHICAGO, Nov. 10 - United Airlines said yesterday that it planned to hire 2,000 flight attendants over the next year, the first such hires for the company since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, sent the industry into a decline.

Domestic airlines employ about 90,000 flight attendants, down from more than 100,000 before Sept. 11, according to the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents about half of the workers. The numbers have fallen as the industry contracted and as attendants agreed to work longer hours.

The new United workers will find that their jobs pay less than previous positions because of cuts negotiated while the airline was in bankruptcy.

The new United workers will find that their jobs pay less than previous positions because of cuts negotiated while the airline was in bankruptcy. They may also find the work to be more stressful because of heightened security concerns and a fleet that is flying at about 80 percent full.

After United furloughed flight attendants and reduced their ranks to 17,000 from 25,000, many workers quit rather than wait to return to jobs with lower pay and a terminated pension plan. While United once had 5,500 attendants on furlough, only half came back when called, the company said. The last callbacks were Oct. 31.

"The attrition has been extremely high - three to four times what it had been before these latest concessions and the termination of our pension plan," said Sara Dela Cruz, a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants.

Jane Allen, senior vice president in charge of onboard services at United, said the new attendants could expect $23,000 to $24,000 a year to start, with annual increases before hitting the 14-year maximum pay, which is $45,000 for an attendant flying international routes.

Ms. Dela Cruz, however, called the starting pay figure "pretty optimistic" since new hires are guaranteed pay equal to 75 flight hours a month, and 85 hours is considered full time.

"It's possible someone could make that much," she said, "if everything goes right." At 75 hours, she said, the starting annual pay would be closer to $16,000. The company's figure includes per diem expense allowances, which are not listed as income.

That is down from an equivalent pay of $19,500 before the bankruptcy, Ms. Dela Cruz said. Attendants at United took a 9 percent pay cut in 2003, and a 9.5 percent cut this year. United said it expected the new hires to fly about 85 hours a month.

The need for flight attendants closely follows the size of an airline's fleet. Continental Airlines, which has won wage concessions from workers, will add 725 attendants this year and 400 in the first half of 2006. Continental employs 8,700 flight attendants.

Delta Air Lines, which recently filed for bankruptcy and is expected to shrink its fleet, has already cut its flight attendant roster to 12,600, from 19,900 before Sept. 11. Delta cut their pay by 9 to 10 percent.

Attrition has traditionally been high. In recent months, Ms. Allen of United said 100 attendants quit each month. Delta said that 40 a month have left recently.

US Airways, which expects to see the ranks of its flight attendants decline along with a 10 percent reduction in its fleet, expects attrition will probably prevent the need for involuntary job cuts.

US Airways currently has 7,243 flight attendants.

United said applications on its Web site will be available Nov. 13, while the first seven-week training class will start Jan. 9. New attendants will be working flights by early March.

By then, the carrier and its parent company, the UAL Corporation, expect to be out of bankruptcy.