How many flight attendants are at American Airlines?
This company is one of the biggest airlines in the United States of America with its headquarters in Texas and Fort Worth. In the air, hundreds of fliers are being served by thousands of flight attendants to ensure that their safety, service, and care needs are well addressed as they travel to different parts of the world aboard American Airlines. But just how many of these flight attendants does American Airlines hire for their services? It is hard to get the accurate number, but one can try to make close estimations based on the facts and data gathered.
American Airlines as of 2020, had a human resource of approximately 123,700 employees. This encompasses pilots, flight attendants, customer service representatives, maintenance and repair workers, ramp service personnel, supervisors and managers, and professionals employed by the airline’s corporate office. Of this total employee number, flight attendants remain as one of the largest groups of workers in the airline.
Major airlines do not report details of the overall number of flight attendants employed with them Voluntary bodies and work unions do not release specific information regarding the overall flight attendants either. This could be the case since crew levels are dynamically altered according to the operational requirements of a company. But from what we know, flight attendants likely comprise between fifteen to twenty percent of American Airlines’ total workforce. If we were to believe the conservative fifteen percent, then it would mean that American employs about 18,500 flight attendants in their flight operation.
This number also appears to be quite sensible if we take into account the size of American in comparison to its counterparts. For instance, Delta Airlines pointed out that it has about 19,000 flight attendants working for the mainline and 9,000 others working for the regional carrier. Considering that American has a similar size of the fleet as Delta, a figure closer to 18,500 attendants seems more appropriate in proportion to the company.
Most of the legacy airlines employ flight attendant staffing that is relative to aircraft capacity and seat configurations. In wide body aircraft the ratios are even starker, with a single flight attendant for every fifty passenger seats. B737 and A320 types are typical of single aisle aircraft where the ratio can be 1:1 if the aircraft size permits it up to the FAA limits. Regional jets are provided one flight attendant per fifty seats, although at least two attendants must be assigned to the aircraft.
Well, how does American Airlines benchmark to these standards? Currently, mainline American Airlines has a fleet of approximately 950 aircrafts and categorizes them in both the widebody and the narrowbody aircrafts. Applying typical crewing ratios, the airline probably cycles through a pool of about 15 000 to 17 000 mainline flight attendants to staff such planes.
On the other hand, if it wanted to have a fleet carrying passengers under the branded regional flights, American Eagle would need an additional 2000 to 3000 flight attendants to relieve one another for the regional flights that use smaller planes. Attributed to these factors, it is possible to estimate that there are between 18,000 and 20,000 flight attendants serving both mainline and regional American Airlines.
However, it is important to understand that all major airlines will also have management and training flight attendants that might not be assigned to flights often. So the total number that may include these specialized positions could end up in about 20,000 attendants who were employed throughout the system.
It is impossible to give the precise number, but according to the available data the approximate number of flight attendants currently employed by the American Airlines, as well as all connected regional carriers, is about 18 500. This number is proportional to the numerous aircrafts this airline has, and is in consonance with staffing practices within the airline industry. As a company that has thousands of flights daily across the world, American requires a full camp of flight attendants to sustain its daily flight schedule. Anything less could soon lead to a subpar railway network system characterised by lots of delays and even cancellations of trains.
So the next time you fly with the American Airlines, which by the way is a major airline that transports passengers across the United States and the world, just remember there is a uniformed crew member of the 18,500 employed by the company to ensure that your flight is safe and as comfortable as possible. Why flying American? From arranging your seat at the gate to the aisle before takeoff, serving hot meals and beverages mid- air, to saying good-bye at your final destination, it is the flight attendants who strive throughout the system of the American Airlines every day. These plans are crucial in maintaining the quality of travel standards that Americans desire when flying.