The board of directors of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents 28,000 American Airlines flight attendants, issued a "unanimous vote of no confidence in American CEO Robert Isom," the union announced Monday.
The letter follows a similarly critical missive sent to the carrier Friday from the board of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents 16,000 American Airlines pilots.
APFA in the letter said management's poor operational and strategic strategy, including the controversial corporate sales and distribution plan it reversed in 2024, has left it behind other major carriers.
"Management's repeated failures are dragging this airline down and leaving frontline workers to pay the price, including losing out on meaningful profit sharing at a company that should be thriving," APFA president Julie Hedrick said in a statement. "When the recent winter storm hamstrung our operations to the point where flight attendants were sleeping on airport floors, Robert Isom's response was that it was just 'part of our job.' His tone-deaf leadership shows a complete disregard for the human element and is actively harming both American Airlines and the people who keep it running every day."
APFA cited J.D. Power's annual satisfaction ratings, which ranked American last in first/business class customer satisfaction, with economy and basic economy also trailing major competitors, and The Wall Street Journal's 2025 Best and Worst Airline Rankings, in which American fell to last place from fifth place in 2023.
In BTN's annual Airline Survey, American has ranked in last place in each of the past four reports, with its average score significantly declining in 2023 and 2024 when the airline was carrying out its push toward New Distribution Capability, a strategy that was reversed in May 2024 and ended up costing the carrier an estimated $1.5 billion that year. Its score, however, increased in 2025.
APFA cited that the sales and distribution strategy, "supported by CEO Isom, alienated business customers and contributed to a sharp decline in rankings." The strategy also "alienated key business customers and negatively impacted revenue."
In addition, the union noted, referring to former American executive Vasu Raja, that "after departing American abruptly in June 2024, the former chief commercial officer responsible for the sales debacle received more than $462,000 in base pay through Jan. 31, 2025, and nearly $1 million in severance."
Pilots Union Critical
APFA's vote and statement followed the Feb. 6 letter from the board of the Allied Pilots Association, sent to American's board addressing the "current operational environment, leadership approach and long-term strategic direction of American Airlines."
APA in the letter said that "our airline is on an underperforming path and has failed to define an identity or a strategy to correct course. … Our members have been clear and consistent in their expectations regarding these issues and have lost confidence in management's ability to correct course. … We need decisive action. We require leaders who are willing, equipped and empowered to get the house in order. … Anything less will result in the continued deterioration of the American Airlines brand."
American did not provide a response to Monday's APFA announcement, but a spokesperson shared a Feb. 7 letter Isom wrote to APA president Nick Silva, in which he agreed that "it is most appropriate that I get together with you, your leadership team or the APA board of directors—whatever is best—as soon as possible."
American also shared comments Isom made at the carrier's leadership conference held last week with about 6,000 individuals in attendance. "2026 really is a year that feels different," Isom said. "And it's a year where we need to deliver on the commitments we've laid out to all our stakeholders: our customers, our shareholders and ourselves. … We've had conversations as a senior leadership team about how we can't pass up any opportunity. … How we need to hold ourselves accountable. … Push ourselves further. It starts with us at the top, but it's all of us here today and how you lead your teams. 2026 can't just feel different. It has to be different."