American Airlines CEO says there’s ‘not a day that goes by’ where the airline doesn’t have trouble supplying enough pillows, blankets, cups, and food for its flights

July 23, 2022

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JULY 23, 2022

Airlines are facing many challenges this summer, including a pilot shortage that’s causing flight delays and cancellations.
American Airlines says it’s facing several other shortages as well.
It has daily trouble providing pillows, blankets, plastic cups, and food for flights, according to CEO Robert Isom.

While the median salary for flight attendants in the US is about $62,280, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pay can vary depending on the airline, and the flight attendant’s level of experience, among other factors.

Some flight attendants have reported their salaries on job-listing sites like Glassdoor and PayScale to help prospective applicants get a better sense of their compensation. These salaries are self-reported to the websites and are an average of all flight attendants who chose to write in.

Here’s how much flight attendants say they make working at 10 major carriers, according to data on Glassdoor and PayScale.

While the pilot shortage is wreaking havoc on airlines’ flight schedules, leading to spates of delays and cancellations, one airline says it’s facing additional shortages impacting customer experience onboard.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told investors on an earnings call this week that the company is struggling every day to provide many of the basic items provided to passengers for comfort in-flight, as first reported by Inc.

“Pilots are one piece,” Isom said. “But … there’s not a day that goes by where we don’t have issues with provisioning our aircraft with pillows, blankets, plastic cups, food. At various times, we have issues with fueling.”

He continued: “It’s just a myriad of things that all have to come together to put an aircraft in the air. And yes, the supply chain for aircraft parts is one thing that we monitor closely. But it’s all these other things that we really are dependent on so many other parts of the system.”

American Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

As for the pilot shortage, Isom reportedly said last month that American will hike pay for 14,000 pilots even higher than initially proposed to help mitigate staffing challenges. The news came weeks after the carrier grounded 100 regional jets because it didn’t have enough pilots to fly them.

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), a union representing more than 14,000 pilots at rival United Airlines, voted to approve a tentative agreement last month that would give pilots a 14.5% pay raise over 18 months, among other benefits, if ratified.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines has announced a new partnership with private aviation company Wheels Up to help pilots finish their training faster so airlines can hire them sooner.

Courtesy/Source: The article originally appeared on Business Insider