They shouldn't have been surprised and they weren't. The flight attendants at American Airlines have been bracing for word that there would be some layoffs or furloughs after the carrier announced a reduction in flights and in the fleet for later this year. When word come of a looming 900 layoffs, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants was ready, sort of, and Frank Bastien, its national communications coordinator, said that he was very glad indeed that company had decide on a "Voluntary Bridge to Retirement" program. When the RIF starts sometime in this quarter, flight attendants who are 50 years or older and who have at least 15 years of seniority will be offered a one-time severance payment of $15,000 if they give up recall rights. They do get some medical and free flying rights.
American will offer this as a Voluntary Bridge to Retirement in an effort to keep involuntary furloughs to a minimum. This is some gift to the union's new directors and officers including Laura Glading, who just won a hard-fought election for president of the 18,000 person union. American has a similar VBR with its mechanics, represented by the TWU.
I'm surprised the number of potential furloughs is only at 900. Although that still is a hefty amount, it seems as though AA is working hard to keep as many people on board as possible during this turbulent period in the industry. I will be interested to hear the numbers regarding the pilots and mechanics.