American Airlines flight attendants call for protest in Texas, demand CEO Robert Isom's ouster — here's why

Flight attendants at American Airlines Group Inc. announced plans to stage a protest outside American Airlines’ headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, Association of Professional Flight Attendants representing 28,000 flight attendants said in a statement.

This follows passing a vote of no confidence in Chief Executive Officer Robert Isom on Monday.

The union had warned that the period for excuses was over and that flight attendants, union allies, and supporters would soon assemble to demand accountability, better operational support, and a change in leadership at American Airlines, beginning with top management.

Last week, the Allied Pilots Association, which represents around 16,000 pilots, sought a meeting with the airline’s board of directors to discuss concerns regarding leadership and the airline’s overall performance.

Isom stressed on the airline’s revamped strategy to strengthen its competitive position in a video message to staff on Wednesday, pointing to investments in premium services and its co-branded credit card partnership with Citi as key focus areas.

In a video, he stated, “Last year was a tough year — no doubt about it. I know we’re going to do better financially and operationally. We will reclaim American’s reputation as the world’s premium global airline," according to a Bloomberg report.

Pilots and flight attendants have held the airline’s leadership responsible for what they called inadequate preparations for last month’s winter storm, as well as underwhelming financial performance. They described these shortcomings as part of a continuing trend of poor execution and flawed decision-making.

The airline is also grappling with efforts to regain the trust of corporate travelers who were frustrated by a controversial sales and distribution strategy, later rolled back, that encouraged customers to book directly through American’s website or app instead of third-party agencies.

“This failed corporate sales strategy was approved at the highest levels of leadership through CEO Robert Isom, and all employees are still paying a dear price for it today,” the flight attendants’ union mentioned.

Persistent ice around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the airline’s largest hub, where nearly a third of its employees reside, made it challenging for staff to reach the airport.

Severe storms often disrupt crew schedules and stretch hotel availability across the airline industry, but unions say this storm highlighted the difficulty American Airlines faced in reassigning crews as cancellations mounted.

Julie Hedrick, president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, told Reuters that some crew members had to spend the night in airport terminals. She added that flight attendants waited six to 11 hours to contact the departments responsible for adjusting schedules and arranging hotels and transportation, a Reuters report noted.

The union shared that crews experienced long delays receiving updated assignments after cancellations, followed by further waits for hotel accommodations and transport. In certain instances, flight attendants were not provided any hotel arrangements at all.

American Airlines did not directly respond to the unions’ allegations. In an employee note sent in January last week, Seymour stated that teams were working to reposition aircraft and open up gates at Dallas-Fort Worth to help keep flights on schedule.

The airline estimated that the storm-related disruptions would reduce revenue by $150 million to $200 million. American was among the hardest-hit carriers, cancelling thousands of flights over several days.

Internal messages to pilots reviewed by Reuters reveal that American Airlines has been offering additional incentive pay to encourage staff to cover unassigned flights while the airline rebuilds its schedule. According to messages dated Jan 26 and Jan 27, an operations executive informed pilots that the airline had activated a special pay rule, granting the equivalent of five hours and 15 minutes of extra pay on certain days in addition to their regular earnings.

Meanwhile, American’s main competitors, United Airlines Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., have reported stronger profit margins for several years.

The Texas-based carrier projected full-year adjusted earnings per share between $1.70 and $2.70, compared with analyst estimates of $2.01. The airline also forecast cash flow exceeding $2 billion for the year, surpassing expectations. The company reported record fourth-quarter revenue of $14 billion, bringing total revenue for the year to $54.6 billion — its highest on record.

“American Airlines is positioned for significant upside in 2026 and beyond. We have built a strong foundation, and we look forward to taking advantage of the investments we have made in our customer experience, network, fleet, partnerships and loyalty program," Isom stated.

This plan consists of introducing free Wi-Fi, upgrading cabins, and boosting investment in a new terminal at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The company also projected first-quarter revenue growth of 7% to 10%.

(With inputs from agencies)