The board of American Airlines' flight attendants union has unanimously supported a no-confidence vote against American CEO Robert Isom.
Robert Isom
The vote, taken by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), follows American's slow recovery from Winter Storm Fern, which resulted in nearly 6,800 flight cancellations between Jan. 23 and Jan. 28, according to FlightAware. That cancellation total was 43.4% of the airline's schedule over that period.
"From abysmal profits earned to operational failures that have frontline workers sleeping on floors, this airline must course-correct before it falls even further behind," APFA president Julie Hedrick said in a statement. "This level of failure begins at the very top, with CEO Robert Isom."
APFA's vote was the latest measure in a pressure campaign by American unions against management. On Feb. 6, the Allied Pilot Association published an open letter to American's board of directors, stating that the union's board had lost confidence in the company's management team.
"We need decisive action," the letter reads. "We require leaders who are willing, equipped and empowered to get the house in order. Leadership must change the culture of this airline, define American's business identity, develop a strategy to not just improve but to outperform our competitors and restore pride across the organization."
Travel Weekly has made requests of American to comment.
In 2025, American recorded operating income of $1.47 billion and an operating margin of 2.7%. By comparison, Delta had operating income of $5.82 billion and a margin of 9.2% while United's operating income was $4.71 billion with a margin of 7.3%. The year followed the post-pandemic trendline of AA earnings falling well short of Delta and United.
American's on-time performance for 2025 was 76.4%, lower than Delta, United and Southwest.
Over the past year, American has made an assertive and public effort to upgrade its customer service, draw in premium flyers and increase yields, including improvements to its food offerings, the addition of free WiFi for AAdvantage members, app upgrades and other measures.
But in its letter, APA accused American of copying competitors' initiatives and making reactive repairs to past mistakes.
APFA detailed some grievances, including high executive compensation and American's failed 2023 and 2024 strategy of moving away from corporate and travel agency sales channels to drive more direct bookings and save on distribution costs.
Isom jettisoned that strategy in late spring 2024 and dismissed the strategy's architect, chief commercial officer Vasu Raja, but not before it cost the company an estimated $1.5 billion in revenue in 2024 alone.
As of the end of 2025, American had successfully regained its historical market share for corporate travel, according to Isom.