Pact for United Airlines flight attendants would truly unite them

The current comparable level at American Airlines is $60 an hour — although the United deal could bring about a change in the contract for American’s flight attendants, based on an earlier agreement American made with its union.

When the merger was announced six years ago, Kochan said, he hoped that Continental’s high-quality customer service and good labor relations would carry over and improve United overall.

The flight attendants struggled to negotiate a deal under the leadership of former United Airlines CEO Jeff Smisek, who resigned in September during a federal investigation into his dealings with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Labor negotiations improved significantly once his successor, Oscar Munoz, took the top job, said Sara Nelson, the international president of the Association of Flight Attendants and a United flight attendant for 20 years.



Since Munoz returned to the company in March, he has spoken repeatedly of “earning back the trust” of United’s employees and customers.



Because United’s largest competitors — Delta Air Lines and American Airlines — both have wider profit margins, Munoz is under pressure from investors to close the gap.