Pros

We still have a pension, they are the most stable airline out there, company is financially healthy (profits made last several quarters)
New planes on order, refurbishment projects underway.

Cons

We need new leadership at the top, corporate greed!

Advice to Senior Management

we gave up alot during the shared pain, but management got rewarded and forgot about the front line workers.

Pros

You will make great friends, the other flight attendants are wonderful, and you do have a lot of flexibility with your schedule. If you are a playful person, thrive on changing circumstances, and don't need a lot of recognition or status in your job, but value your freedom, then this might the right job for you.

Cons

The management is terrible. Ultimately, there is no respect from headquarters toward the everyday people who actually run the day-to-day operations. Management rewards themselves with huge bonuses, as we have taken an enormous paycut to "keep the company afloat" during the threat of bankruptcy. All these promises were made at that time, that we would share in the "turn-AAround plan", that we would benefit when the company became profitable. What a joke. I never believed this, because I have seen our management be so deceitful, time and time again in the past. And my suspicions were correct. Management could not care less about keeping promises or valuing their employees. We are still working under a contract imposed on us in 2003, which reduced our pay by 35%. Overnight, I made $12,000 less each year. For doing the exact same job.

Advice to Senior Management

Give back their bonuses. TODAY. Start negotiating in good faith. Quit playing games, and retire your "corporate culture" which breeds division and animosity. Learn something from the manner in which Southwest runs their company, where they actually do value their employees. They do more than just lip service (which is all our management ever does, and it gets old. Nauseating, actually.) Gerald Arpey, you almost won the award "WORST CEO OF THE YEAR." You came in close second. The guy who actually won ran an operation that abused animals. So how do you like being compared to him? You came in close second.

Pros

Flexible Schedule, ways to 'beat the system', and the money for how easy the job is.

Cons

Long, uncomfortable days with no place to sit and relax, no food, rude passengers, layovers so short that it's impossible to get even 6 hours of sleep (minimum time 'behind the door' is 8 hours, which doesn't include getting undressed, unwound, and asleep, or waking up and getting ready to be at the plane an hour before we start getting paid)

Advice to Senior Management

Your Front line employees are the KEY to the success or failure of the company. Listen to them intently, give them what they need, make them happy. We understand these are trying times, but I feel we are in a position now where it's time for the Co to give back our paycuts, at least part of what we lost after Sep 11.

Pros

The ONLY reason to stay, is that this is a seniority based career (Pilot). If you join another company, you lose all seniority, and literally start at the very bottom. Even with that, there are a growing number of AA pilots leaving for other opportunities, something absolutely unthinkable in the past...

Cons

Toxic management practices. Complete disrespect for employees. Management taking millions of dollars in 'performance" bonuses, while the company is losing money, the stock is falling, and the line employees are enduring massive paycuts. I'm making less than I was as a copilot fifteen years ago. Management thinks drastically cutting maintenance & training costs are a good thing to do. Do you?

Advice to Senior Management

Treat your employees as you would like to be treated...

Pros

The employees are trying to do their best for their customers with the tools they have to work with.

Cons

The airline industry is loaded with companies who are selling their tickets at unreasonably low prices, below the cost of providing the product. American is compelled to meet the ticket prices and operates at a loss. This forces pay rates to lower and lower levels. I am making much less today than I was in 1993 considering inflation.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop wasting money on advertising when our on-time performance is so poor. We rate near the bottom of several categories of performance. Negotiate with your unions honestly. Honor your commitment to sacrifice equally. Refuse bonuses when your performance does not justify them.

Pros

Relatively higher employee morale than under US Airlines. Great colleagues, a lot of have happily stayed with the company for years (even decades). It is a great company to work to retire esp. because of the only remaining companies with a pension plan and full flight benefits. The culture to give back to society is awesome!

Cons

Being an airline company the profits are low or non-existent and so is the yearly bonus. Since the company is an old legacy company, the overall attitude is very bureaucratic, which communication in layers. Giving back to society is great but asking for donation to wear jeans on Fridays might be too much for some.

Advice to Senior Management

Make this company profitable and remove the layers of bureaucracy.

Pros

In this current challenging global airline environment, there are still ways to make an impact. There are so many good ideas and great folks working at American that it is really a very enjoyable place to work. Initiative is recognized and rewarded. The senior leadership is doing a good job pushing for cost reductions and performance improvements in every single area of the airlines operations.

Cons

Moral of many of the folks that have been around a while is not as high as those folks that joined in the past three years. There is some apathy that things will really never change but I have personally been involved in some changes for the better and I don't think that way.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work!

Pros

Good benefits, travel, and opportunity to participate in projects that make an impact on the company. Benefits package is quite extensive, likely due to the fact that a high percentage of the workforce is organized with labor contracts setting a floor on many of the benefit options. Retirement benefits are typical with 401k with match up to 5.5%. No defined benefit plan anymore for non-union. Travel perks are among the best and fairest among airlines, however, planes are increasingly full so stand-by travel is sometimes difficult.

Cons

Poor profitability, dismal industry limits financial upside. Returns from Stock based incentive compensation can be minimal.

Advice to Senior Management

Practice accountability at the senior levels

Pros

The flight benefits if you are a flight attendant or pilot cause you can ride the jump seats

Cons

Pay and the way manegment treat you like you are a employee Number
no human touch

Advice to Senior Management

No new advice we need all new people how is loyal to the Company not to their bonuses or payraise

Pros

Excellent group of co-workers who seem to care about the company. Everyone in my division (MCLA) I met was extremely friendly and helpful. This is a great group of people that truly seem to care.

Decent travel benefits (assuming you're flexible). This is especially true for international travel. Domestically it's easier to buy a ticket.

Cons

Complete lack of direction from management. There is no vision for what this company could become and no plan to get it there.

Lots of middle managers not doing anything to move the company forward. There were managers in my area that had 1 to 2 employees reporting to them. It seemed anything over 5 employees was reason to hire another manager.

Pay isn't comparable to other companies.

Advice to Senior Management

Show some leadership ability. Think about the long term success of the company, not just the quarterly financial results.