I'm not versed in the FA contract...maybe you are, or maybe you've heard through the grapevine. But how does the FA union define 'cabin'? PE is it's own physical cabin, in the sense that it is separated by bulkhead walls from Biz and Main Cabin. PE is also sold as a separate class of service, as Biz and Main Cabin are. So where does the FA contract delineate "cabin" for the purposes of staffing? I thought the airline could staff as they please, so long as they meet the
minimum FA staffing per
FAA reg 14 CFR 121.391, which is based on how many passenger seats are in the entire aircraft. Essentially it means 1 FA per 50 seats. For AA that would mean minimums on PE equipped aircraft:
788 - 5
789 - 6
772 - 6
773 - 7
Haven't flown recently to do an FA headcount. Does AA stick to those minimums or are they staffing those aircraft with more than the minimum FAs? Does the FA contract make a staffing exception for a domestic run of a widebody where AA doesn't sell PE, but just makes those seats MCE?
AA has a contract with their FA's. That contract specifies staffing levels by aircraft, length of flight, international vs domestic, passenger load, etc. Obviously, FAA minimums must be met on all flights. Most non-transon domestic flights operate with FAA minimums. However, transcon and International may contractually require more than minimum staffing.
Back in the day, the FA contract requirements were quite complex (back when service levels were higher in coach domestically). When a full dinner service was served in both cabins on a medium length full flight, the contract required 5 FA's for the MD-80 and 72S, for example. But a Breakfast flight out of a non-hub city may only require 3. Even beverage server only flights were contractually complex: a full shorter flights may require 4, while a full longer flight may only require 3. Hope this helps!