The summer travel season is in full swing, with highways jammed and the Transportation Security Administration recently screening a record number of passengers at airport checkpoints. However, as travelers plan their trips, a union representing American Airlines flight attendants warned Friday about a potential strike after the carrier and union failed to reach a deal. 

On Friday evening, aviation watchdog JonNYC posted on X, “Never had this before; four different people just sent me the FA union/strike update within minutes.” Minutes later, he posted a statement from the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) asking workers to prepare for strike after contract negotiations with American failed to produce a deal. 

“Two weeks of intensive mediation at the National Mediation Board (NMB) offices in Washington, D.C., failed to produce an agreement with American Airlines. These sessions followed three weeks of mediation in DFW. Per the request of the NMB, we cannot release particular details. We remain apart on the key economics of the deal plus the company’s completely unacceptable demand for scheduling concessions,” APFA wrote. 

Further down, the union warned American flight attendants:

“All Flight Attendants need to prepare for a strike. Strike handbooks will be mailed to your address on file with APFA.” 

Here’s the full memo from APFA: 

There is hope that through NMB, which oversees contract negotiations between both parties, the airline and union can get together for “last ditch” talks in the next two weeks. 

Reuters pointed out, “Flight attendants at United Airlines, Alaska Air group, American Airlines, and Frontier are among employees at more than a dozen airlines still working to reach new contract deals.” 

It was noted from the aviation blog View from the Wing, “American Airlines flight attendants have not gotten a raise since January 1, 2019, and they’ve seen the value of their wages eroded significantly by inflation. Delta and Southwest flight attendants now earn more than they do.” 

Travelers should monitor developments surrounding American and APFA over the next several weeks if they’re traveling to mitigate any disruptions if a deal is not struck in upcoming last-ditch effort talks.