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United Flight Attendants Ratify 5-Year Deal With 31% Raises and Boarding Pay

The agreement sets a new industry benchmark that will raise United’s ongoing labor costs.

Overview

  • United flight attendants, in a Tuesday vote, approved the five-year contract with 82% support on 88.85% turnout covering nearly 30,000 workers.
  • Pay terms include an average 31% base-pay increase by August, new boarding pay for time spent loading passengers, sit pay for long ground waits, and about $741 million in back pay.
  • Work-rule changes add limits on red-eye flying, paid maternity and parental leave, higher per diem and 401(k) contributions, and the end of 24-hour on-call reserves.
  • The pact followed a March tentative deal reached with a National Mediation Board mediator after members rejected a 2025 offer, and top-scale hourly rates will eventually exceed $100.
  • Industry outlets report the raises and new pay categories will lift United’s ongoing labor costs and erode a past cost advantage, though some retro pay was already reflected in results.