Delta to begin paying flight attendants during boarding

By DAVID KOENIG
AP Airlines Writer

Delta Air Lines will start paying flight attendants during the time that passengers are boarding. That’s a first for a major U.S. airline. Flight attendants in the U.S. generally don’t begin getting paid by the hour until the doors close after boarding. Delta said Tuesday that the change will take effect in June, and it comes on top of pay raises for flight attendants. The pay increase comes as Delta faces another attempt by unions to organize its non-union flight attendants. Delta said the new boarding pay would be on top of 4% raises that it granted to flight attendants last month.