AFA admits waiting for pay increases is less valuable
United AFA told its flight attendants, who haven’t seen a pay scale increase since 2020, that forgoing pay increases in the present in favor of pay increases in the future creates less value:
“There is an economic principle of the time value of money, which holds that having a unit of money now is more valuable than having that same value in the future. That means having a wage increase at present is more valuable than having the same or similar amount down the road.” – UA AFA Negotiations Update; May 2, 2025
We agree – and that’s why Delta has offered flight attendants regular pay raises (absent COVID years). In fact, this year’s 4% raise is the fourth consecutive pay raise since 2022, resulting in a 26% increase in pay including boarding premium pay. As flight attendants’ pay increases, so does boarding premium pay, profit sharing, and Delta’s contributions to their 401(k).
Meanwhile, AFA-represented United flight attendants haven’t seen a pay raise since 2020.
Years of stagnant wages have a big impact on employees’ ability to respond to rising costs, not to mention the cascading effects on other areas of compensation like vacation pay and 401(k) contributions and related growth in the stock market.
As we’ve said before, retro pay does not make flight attendants whole for the pay they didn’t receive and isn’t as valuable as receiving steady pay raises over the last five years.
Delta agrees that wage increases now are more valuable than waiting for hopefully the same amount later, which is why we consistently invest in our flight attendants’ future – without the uncertainty of negotiations to hold us back.
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