Here's why American Airlines is moving flight attendants out of Phoenix

On Wednesday, American Airlines announced it is seeking to relocate flight attendants from Phoenix to other cities. It said it needs 700 fewer flight attendants in Phoenix and 700 more in both Dallas and Los Angeles.

Why is this happening? It goes back to the 2013 merger of American and US Airways. 

Before the merger, US Airways was based in Tempe and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was its primary Western hub. Dallas-based American Airlines had hubs in Dallas and Los Angeles, so the merger naturally raised questions about Phoenix's place in the merged airlines' system.

American has continually said that Phoenix is an important part of its system, although in recent weeks it has described the city more as a "flex" hub and a destination market rather than a large hub. This week, we learned about how the airline plans to redistribute flight staff.

Why do so many flight attendants need to move?

American says it has an imbalance of flight attendants in Phoenix because of the length of time it took to integrate flight attendant management systems after the merger with US Airways.

Until October 2018, the two airlines' systems were not integrated and flight attendant staffing had to be managed separately. Former US Airways flight attendants could only serve on former US Airways planes. American flight attendants could only staff American planes.

If the airline moved a former US Airways plane to Los Angeles International Airport, it couldn’t staff it with an LAX-based American flight attendant crew. It had to bring in a former US Airways team from Phoenix. This caused redundancies and inefficiencies.

Now that the computer systems are integrated, operations are streamlined and there is a staffing imbalance. Hundreds more flight attendants are needed in Los Angeles and Dallas, and hundreds fewer are needed in Phoenix.

Will any flight attendants lose their jobs?

The airline says no. Over the next couple of years, it hopes to reduce the number of flight attendants in Phoenix through voluntary transfers and not filling vacancies when people leave their jobs. Employees will be encouraged to seek transfers to other American Airlines cities.

The airline says it also anticipates hiring hundreds of additional flight attendants who will be based in Dallas or Los Angeles.

How many flight attendants does American have in Phoenix?

Phoenix is home to 2,360 American Airlines flight attendants, so 700 fewer will be a nearly 30% reduction.

How many employees does American have in Phoenix?

More than 10,000 American Airlines employees are based in Arizona and 9,500 of those are in Phoenix.

Phoenix staffing includes:

• 2,590 management and support staff.
• 2,360 flight attendants.
• 1,045 fleet service employees.
• 880 pilots.
• 600 maintenance employees.
• 590 reservations staff.
• 550 passenger service employees.

Is American Airlines the largest carrier at Sky Harbor?

Yes. American Airlines has 46% of the traffic flying through Sky Harbor. It operates 268 daily flights. The next largest airline is Southwest, which operates 194 daily flights and employs 4,589 employees in Phoenix.

Will American Airlines eventually leave Phoenix?

The airline says Phoenix is an important part of its network and a growing destination market. Just last week, the airline reaffirmed its commitment to Phoenix by announcing an expansion of its soon-to-launch route to London Heathrow from seasonal to year-round service. 

In a statement Wednesday, American Airlines Network and Schedule Planning Vice President Vasu Raja said, "We remain committed to keeping the Valley of the Sun connected to the world. We recognize the unique value of Phoenix as a hub for American Airlines. More than 250 daily flights are important to our team members, customers and our business. We are here to stay.”

What’s the history of airline mergers in Phoenix?

American Airlines began service from Phoenix in 1930.

In 1983, America West Airlines began operating from Terminal 3.

In 2005, America West merged with US Airways.

Eight years later, in 2013, American Airlines merged with US Airways. It took some time for the airlines to fully integrate. The last US Airways departure was in 2015. The airline finished merging its pilot management systems in 2016 and its flight attendant systems in October 2018.