United Airlines Flight Attendants Salary in 2025 | New Deal

CHICAGO- Flight attendants at United Airlines (UA), headquartered in Chicago and based at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), are poised to receive substantial pay raises under a new tentative contract.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) has released a high-level summary of the five-year agreement, which includes an average 26.9% increase in base pay and new benefits such as boarding pay, improved layover hotels, and Polaris-quality crew meals.

Photo: United Airlines

United Flight Attendants’ Salary in 2025

The new agreement significantly boosts wages for all flight attendants, from newly hired crew to senior members with over a decade of experience. Under the tentative deal:

• 1st-year flight attendants will see pay jump from $28.88 to $36.92/hour, with yearly increases bringing that to $42.06/hour by year five.
• 13th-year+ veterans will go from $67.11 to $84.78/hour, peaking at $96.58/hour by year five.
• The pay raises reflect annual increases ranging from 3.0% to 3.75% over the five-year term.
• Boarding pay will be introduced for the first time, calculated at 50% of hourly flight pay.
• A retroactive bonus of $595 million compensates for the years without raises during contract talks.

Photo: AFW

The full pay scale adjustment includes increases from the Date of Signing (DOS) through four additional years, creating one of the most competitive pay structures among U.S. airlines.

Photo: United Airlines

Improvements Beyond Pay

The contract brings several quality-of-life improvements that reflect long-standing demands from flight attendants:

• Hotel upgrades: Layovers of 17 hours or more will now be in verified downtown hotels, eliminating loopholes that previously allowed for far-off locations.
• Crew meals: Flight attendants will receive meals equal in quality to those in Polaris Business Class and gain access to reserve meals like passengers.
• Per diem increases: Daily layover allowances for food and drink will rise.
• Scheduling protections: A moratorium restricts United from altering its current scheduling system during the contract’s term.
• Holiday recognition: Halloween has been added, raising the number of recognized holidays to six.

These changes were key issues during the prolonged bargaining process and aim to address concerns about fatigue, rest, and duty conditions.

Photo: AFA-CWA

Timeline, Union Position, and Roadshows

The AFA-CWA plans to hold roadshows at United bases nationwide to explain the contract and gather feedback before a vote expected in late July 2025. If ratified, the contract will go into effect on July 30.

The union leadership has already expressed confidence in the agreement, emphasizing that they would not present the tentative deal if it wasn’t the strongest possible outcome after five years of negotiation.

While United flight attendants didn’t secure every demand, such as ground duty pay, —they did lock in historic compensation gains and tangible quality-of-life upgrades. The contract matches industry expectations, delivering predictable wins in a strategic and structured agreement.

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