The union representing Frontier Airlines flight attendants is calling for immediate contractual changes to counter compensation reductions that it says are resulting from Frontier's sharp shift toward out-and-back flying.
"The changed business model includes changes not contemplated in the collective bargaining agreement and impacts all aspects of a flight attendant's work life," Association of Flight Attendants-CWA president Sara Nelson wrote in a letter to Frontier CEO Barry Biffle.
The changes, she continued, impact where flight attendants can live and whether they can commute. They also nearly eliminate overnight stays for Frontier flights attendants and "dramatically" impact their take home pay.
Frontier declined to comment.
Last fall, the airline laid out a plan to increase its proportion of out-and-back flying to nearly 90% of its network during the first half of this year. By flying more out-and-back routes as opposed to sending aircraft on more complex point-to-point itineraries, Frontier is striving to improve operational reliability and cut costs.
Out-and-back routes comprised just 50% of Frontier's flying last November.
As it implements the changes, Frontier has announced plans for four new crew bases to facilitate out-and-back flying. The carrier has also made numerous adjustments to its route network as it shifts away from crowded leisure markets in destinations such a Florida and Las Vegas and toward more business-oriented routes in major airline hubs.
Frontier announced its latest network changes Thursday -- eight new routes, including three that touch Dallas-Fort Worth and two that touch Philadelphia.
In her letter to Biffle, Nelson noted that the AFA-Frontier contract becomes amendable on May 15 and that the union is committed to negotiating a new collective bargain agreement.
But she also wrote that Frontier's new network strategy constitutes a major dispute under the Railway Labor Act, which governs labor relations in the airline industry.
That dispute, Nelson wrote, must be dealt with outside the broader negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement.
Nelson copied the letter to the National Mediation Board, which mediates airline labor disputes.