Story perspectives

United Flight Attendants Secure 31% Pay Raise, Massive Retroactive Payout

5/13/2026

Summary

Flight Attendants Ratify

United Airlines flight attendants ratified a new five-year contract on May 12, 2026.
The deal won 82% approval with an 88.85% turnout and grants a 31% base-pay rise, 7-8% boarding pay, plus $741 million retroactive wages for nearly 30,000 attendants.
It also adds job-security measures, sit-pay after 2.5-hour waits, higher per-diem and 401(k) contributions, and expands paid leave to 10 weeks maternity and two weeks parental or adoption leave.

Summary

United Secures Contract

United Airlines secured the final union contract for its flight attendants, becoming the last major U.S. carrier to do so.
The deal follows Southwest (April 2024), American Airlines (September 2024) and Alaska Airlines (February 2025) contracts.
Delta Air Lines remains the only carrier without a unionized flight-attendant workforce and gave a 4% raise this month.
United’s agreement adds boarding pay, a previously excluded compensation element, after a tentative pact was rejected in July 2025.

History

Historical Context

The 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, signed by President Jimmy Carter, ended CAB fare and route controls, spurring a 39% rise in airline employment through 1986 and prompting bankruptcies of eight major carriers by 2001. Decades of cost pressure led United and Southwest to negotiate sizable wage hikes in 2024-26, echoing the labor turbulence traced to deregulation.

1 of 3

Flight Attendants Ratify

United Airlines flight attendants ratified a new five-year contract on May 12, 2026.
The deal won 82% approval with an 88.85% turnout and grants a 31% base-pay rise, 7-8% boarding pay, plus $741 million retroactive wages for nearly 30,000 attendants.
It also adds job-security measures, sit-pay after 2.5-hour waits, higher per-diem and 401(k) contributions, and expands paid leave to 10 weeks maternity and two weeks parental or adoption leave.

1 / 3