Frontier Airlines flight attendants, which are represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), have voted 99.6% in favor of going on strike in a ballot in which 92.7% of its members participated.
The dispute between Frontier’s flight attendants and the airline’s management is related to operational changes that are being implemented in order to cut costs.
In particular, the flight attendants are complaining that the airline’s management has refused to engage in negotiations over a plan to switch to an “out-and-back” model, which, the workers say, will have a significant impact on their lives.
The out-and-back model, which is the norm for most low-cost airlines in Europe, involves aircraft flying out and back from designated bases on the same day, limiting the movement of aircraft and crews across the network and reducing overnight stays.
Frontier Airlines is also implementing some broader operational changes, such as opening new crew bases and adjusting its network and schedules in order to bring the share of “out-and-back” operations close to 90% from the current 50%.
These changes, however, may result in lower income for crew members and could impact their personal lives. Union members are arguing that the change is significant enough to be out of the scope of regular contract negations.
If it was to go-ahead with the strike, which currently has no specific time-frame, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) may implement a trademarked strike strategy known as CHAOS™, which stands for Create Havoc Around Our System™, in which the union decides where and how to strike without providing notice, affecting individual flights or creating more systemic disruption.