4.15.26 – APFA LGA Base Brief – A Century Aloft Powered by Workers, Carried by Flight Attendants

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

A Century Aloft Powered by Workers,
Carried by Flight Attendants

As American Airlines marks 100 years, this is first and foremost a moment to recognize the workers who have carried this airline through every chapter of its history, especially our Flight Attendants, who represent the very best of this profession every single day. No employee group spends more time directly with the customer than we do. We care for hundreds, often thousands, of passengers in a single day, balancing safety, service, medical response, crisis management, and humanity under conditions most people never see. That is not just work, it is skill, professionalism, and sacrifice at the highest level.

And while many of you are reading polished centennial messages from management today, what often goes unsaid is who truly keeps this airline moving: the workers who show up despite feeling undervalued, who step up during epic IROPS failures, who pick up extra sequences and steady the operation time and again, even when leadership has not built a real plan for the next crisis. Executives, strategies, and policies may come and go, some better than others, but workers remain the constant force behind this airline’s survival and success. The true shareholders of this company are not only those who hold stock certificates, but those of us who invest our labor, skill, sacrifice, and lives into making every flight depart and every promise of this airline possible.

As your APFA LGA Base President, I could not be prouder to represent some of the hardest-working, most professional Flight Attendants in this system, right here in New York. Thank you for the trust you place in me to fight for you, and thank you, to every worker across this airline, union and non-union alike, for giving this company 100 years of dedication. This centennial is not just a celebration of an airline; it is a celebration of the people who built it, sustained it, and will carry it forward long after today’s leadership is gone.

In Unity,

Christian M. Santana
APFA LGA Base President
[email protected]