AA to Recall 200 More Flight Attendants; Hire More

American Airlines says they will recall several hundred flight attendants and hire more than two dozen more.

The Fort Worth-based carrier will recall 200 furloughed flight attendants and hire up to an additional 30 who speak Mandarin Chinese, said Missy Latham, AA spokesperson. Those speaking Mandarin will be supporting the airline's new Los Angeles to Shanghai route.

The deal will bring 100 flight attendants back to work by July 15 while the second group should be back by Oct. 15.

Friday's recall comes after the airline recalled 368 flight attendants just last week to deal with an expected increase in traffic during the summer. At the beginning of February, the airline had 1,104 inactive flight attendants. With the recent recalls, that number should drop to 536.

"This is tremendous news. This is what we do as a union – protect jobs. I am extremely happy that even more people will be back to work. People who’ve been struggling for a long time will be given a chance to better support their families," said APFA President Laura Glading. “Hopefully this can be a springboard to finally complete a new collective bargaining agreement.”

American’s 18,000 flight attendants have been negotiating a new contract for two years. Last year, they voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike.

Latham also said, in agreement with the flight attendant's union, that there is now an indefinite extension of recall rights for the remaining flight attendants on furlough. Those flight attendants still on the recall list were expected to fall off the list Nov. 1.