Suspicious Sick Calls

Good afternoon, team.

Leadership would like to offer some clarity regarding employee sick time usage and our continued commitment to operational dependability.

Let me say this plainly:

We notice things.

When a sick call lands directly beside a holiday, vacation, weekend, or Miami layover, it does not quietly disappear into the system. It creates patterns. Patterns generate questions. Questions generate meetings. And meetings generate stress for leadership.

Not because we enjoy that.

Because we carry the responsibility of protecting the financial health of this airline.

To be clear, employees absolutely earn sick time. That is not changing.

What is changing is visibility.

When absences begin aligning in neat little rows, the operation absorbs that impact immediately. Coverage has to be rebuilt. Staffing models shift. Reserve utilization rises. Costs increase. Margins tighten. Executives are forced into difficult conversations about reliability and investor confidence.

And those conversations are emotionally exhausting for us.

When you show up, things stabilize.
The numbers cooperate.
Forecasts calm down.
Leadership can breathe again.

When you don’t, the operation absorbs a shockwave that travels all the way to the executive floor.

Now, we understand this job is physically and emotionally demanding. Fatigue happens. Illness happens. Injuries happen.

However, leadership must also evaluate whether some employees may be using recovery periods in ways that appear… recreational.

For example, two flight attendants recently remained out of work following a severe turbulence incident. Initially, leadership believed they were simply extending their time in Miami under the increasingly popular “self-care” framework.

Which was disappointing.

However, we have now learned those employees were reportedly recovering from legitimate injuries while simultaneously contacting Morgan & Morgan regarding possible legal action against the company.

Naturally, this development raised concerns.

Not only because litigation can become expensive, but because it risks creating an atmosphere where employees begin viewing operational trauma as something other than “part of the lifestyle.”

And that can have significant implications for the industry.

We are not removing sick time.

We are simply ensuring sick time remains aligned with operational trust, financial responsibility, and leadership’s emotional well-being.

You earned the days.

And management carries the responsibility of ensuring those days do not quietly evolve into a cost the rest of the enterprise must bear.

That’s accountability.

Warmly, Really,
The Aluminum Lady
💋❤️✈️