Pilots and flight attendants at American Airlines have become so fed up with the company’s leadership that their frustrations have spilled into public view in recent days.
The union that represents the airline’s 28,000 flight attendants said on Monday that its board had issued a unanimous vote of no confidence in the company’s chief executive, Robert Isom. And on Friday, the union that represents 16,000 pilots asked to meet with the board of directors, saying that American was “on an underperforming path and has failed to define an identity or a strategy to correct course.”
The rebukes are notable because neither union is in the middle of negotiating a new contract with the airline when workers and managers are often at loggerheads about many issues.
The dissent comes as American has lost substantial ground to Delta Air Lines and United Airlines in recent years. In 2024 and 2025, Delta earned about 56 percent of the U.S. airline industry’s total profits, according to data from S&P Capital IQ. United earned about 43 percent, while American came in third at 6 percent despite being the largest carrier based on the number of flights and passengers. Pilots and flight attendants at all three airlines earn a share of company profits.
Aviation experts say that Delta and United are doing better partly because they operate at airports and on routes that are more lucrative. But analysts also said that American had not invested as much as the other two airlines in premium seats, which have become much more popular in recent years and are a major source of profits.
“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,” Julie Hedrick, the president of the flight attendants’ union, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said in the statement. The union said it was the first time it had formally expressed a lack of confidence in the airline’s chief executive.
In its letter, the pilots’ union, the Allied Pilots Association, noted the company’s lagging performance and said it had raised concerns about operational problems with management over the past year. American “continues to struggle under predictable stressors, exposing systemic weaknesses in preparation, execution and decision making,” the union said.
American, which is based in Fort Worth, was particularly hard-hit by the winter storm that wreaked havoc across the eastern United States in January. The company canceled more than 9,000 flights, making it the airline’s worst-ever weather-related disruption. American said that the reason it suffered much more than other airlines was because five of its nine airport hubs were affected by the weather.
In a response to the pilots union, Mr. Isom said on Saturday that he and the rest of the airline’s board had discussed the group’s message “at length” and agreed that he should meet with the union’s leadership.
“I appreciate the opportunity to address the items outlined in your letter and the specifics you relayed to me personally regarding our handling of winter storms Fern and Gianna; American’s focus on pilot attendance policies; and our business plan to return American to its rightful place atop the industry,” he said.
In response to a request for comment, American referred to public comments that Mr. Isom had made in recent weeks.
On a call last month to discuss the airline’s quarterly performance, he said that American was working to provide consistent, good customer service; make the best use of its hub airports and planes; improve its loyalty program; and increase revenue.
“While this has been a multiyear effort, 2026 will be the year these efforts start to bear fruit,” Mr. Isom said. “We’re off to a fast start based on the booking trends we’ve observed in January, all-time records for the first three weeks of the year,” he added.
American is also investing heavily in lounges, premium seats and other initiatives to attract and retain wealthier customers.
Niraj Chokshi is a Times reporter who writes about aviation, rail and other transportation industries.
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