United Airlines flight attendants are about to vote on a new contract, which is long overdue, as their current contract became amendable in 2021. For the most part, the tentative contract looks great, with significant raises, boarding pay, and much more. However, some flight attendants also have concerns, so here’s one of the changes that’s likely to raise some eyebrows.
United lowering standard for crew layover hotels
JonNYC shares some of the text of the tentative agreement that United management and the union have agreed to, specifically relating to the hotels that flight attendants stay at during layovers. This text specifically covers the change in language between the old contract and the new contract, and notes a potential downgrade to the hotels that flight attendants will stay at.
Some of the layover hotel requirements being eliminated seem reasonable enough, reflecting the times. For example, the “ability to access services with cash” is being eliminated, as establishments increasingly become cashless.
However, the quality of hotels at which flight attendants will stay with the new contract sure seems like a downgrade. The tentative contract no longer includes language about the quality of hotels that flight attendants will stay at.
In the old contract, the language stated that flight attendants are entitled to a “business class hotel,” whatever that is, exactly. In the new contract, the standard of hotels required for flight attendants is simply described as hotels with “regular maintenance and cleaning performed to keep it in a tenantable condition.”
UA: from the FA TA, hotel downgrade:
— JonNYC (@xjonnyc.bsky.social) June 11, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Is this change in hotel terms a big deal?
Of course it’s anyone’s guess what exactly this change in terms will mean in practice. The fact that something in the old contract specifically referencing the quality of hotels is being eliminated with the new contract suggests to me that those standards will be lowered.
Now, I don’t expect that we’re suddenly going to see United downgrade all crew layover hotels overnight, and move flight attendants to motels. However, it does suggest that there may be a general lowering of the standard over time. A hotel with regular maintenance performed isn’t exactly a high standard when it comes to quality, if you ask me.
Bottom line
United flight attendants will shortly be voting on a new contract. While the new contract has lots of huge improvements that will likely add over a billion dollars of value per year for flight attendants, there are also some concessions. One of those seems to involve layover hotels, where flight attendants may soon not be entitled to the same standard of hotel.
I’m curious if flight attendants consider this to be a big deal, or if they’re just happy on balance to see their compensation increase substantially.
