Why Boarding Pay Is the New Battleground for Flight Attendants

Once Air Canada’s flight attendants ended their days-long strike earlier this month, the union representing them declared victory. “Unpaid work is over,” the Canadian Union of Public Employees said in a statement.

As part of the tentative agreement, Air Canada flight attendants won a major concession from the airline: boarding pay. That refers to pay for work done outside the plane before takeoff and after landing, and it has become a lightning rod for flight attendant contract negotiations across North America.

The debate over boarding pay highlights a bigger question: how flight attendants are compensated for the hours they actually work.

What Work Goes Unpaid?

Most flight attendants are paid only for work done inside the plane, despite working long shifts that include work done outside the plane. Some of the work done before and after takeoff includes the time flight attendants spend inside the airport waiting for their next flight, ass