Originally Posted by YEG Guy

Training a FA takes 5-7 days depending on how many a/c types Management would like each FA to fly. It can be done in 5 days if the FA groups are split amongst the major types (Embraer, Narrowbody Airbus, Widebody).

The 5-7 days training gets the basics of customer service plus all the safety training and safety exams completed.

Robert Crandell got into a fight with AFA in mid 90s, he had AA back to full schedule in about 10 days after the strike began. At 10 days Clinton ended the strike, forced the AFA back to work and imposed a settlement. The back to work order was completed as AA suddenly didn't need to settle with AFA.

The AA strike plus a few others in the mid 90s lead to the CHAOS strike theory in the late 90s. CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System) involves the FA Union striking a particular section of the flight system, or a specific city or flight. The idea is to cripple the network, but not shut down the whole system. This was sucessfully utilized at Alaska and few others (UA pilots did something similar in 1999/2000).

In 1985 AC Flight attendants struck from June to early September. They were fully replaced by management and nonunion staff and had a good summer off their regular duties. The airline ran smoothly after the first week of disruption. In the end there are no customer service difference between strike or regular operations.