AA scope / sale of Executive Airlines

[dispatchguy]

Here's the PR announcement from AA.com

AMERICAN HONORS CONTRACT CAPPING REGIONAL CARRIER ASMS

Regional Affiliates Undertaking Numerous Initiatives Designed to Minimize Impact on Customers and Employees

FORT WORTH, Texas – American Airlines today announced that its regional affiliates, American Eagle and American Connection, are undertaking numerous initiatives to reduce the number of available seat miles (ASMs) they fly. These steps are required to enable American to honor its contract with the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which limits the number of ASMs flown by American’s regional affiliates while APA members are on furlough.

American Eagle’s president, Peter Bowler, outlined in a letter to employees the steps that carrier is taking to reduce ASMs. These include:

Soon removing some seats from Saab and ATR aircraft. By taking these seats out of these planes, Eagle can reduce ASMs without any impact to employees or routes.

Accelerating jet-for-prop replacements on some routes earlier than planned.

Reducing frequencies (the number of trips per day) on routes across the system. These frequency cancellations will be phased in starting in April.

Withdrawing from seven routes on April 7: Dallas/Fort Worth to Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas; Dallas/Fort Worth to Lafayette, La.; Chicago to Baton Rouge, La.; New York JFK to Cleveland; New York JFK to Syracuse, N.Y.; Boston to Albany, N.Y.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Barahona, Dominican Republic. These routes are Eagle’s weakest financial performers.

Closing two American Eagle stations – Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas, and Lafayette, La. – on April 6 as a result of the route cancellations.

Together with actions taken by the American Connection carriers serving American’s new St. Louis hub, these initiatives will bring the airlines in compliance with the ASM cap through the end of June without further station or route closings.

Bowler stated that American Eagle remains committed to its primary mission of feeding traffic to American Airlines flights, which is especially critical as American tries to rebuild following the airline industry’s severe downturn.

However, Bowler stated that additional ASM-cutting initiatives would be required as American Eagle continues to take delivery of approximately three new regional jets per month and would again bump up against the cap in July.

Among the options that American Eagle is evaluating are a number of potential alternatives involving the carrier’s Miami operations and Executive Airlines, which flies as American Eagle in the Caribbean but under a separate operating certificate. The options range from changing the codeshare agreement with American all the way to the potential sale of some or all of these aspects of Eagle.

No final decisions have been made, and the carrier continues to explore all available avenues to allow American to honor its contractual commitment to the APA .

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How neat, AMR'll honor their precious contract with APA, but god forbid if they were to do it with any other group.

 

[FLYnMONKEYS]

Re: BLAH BLAH BLAH

What is best for both pilot groups is one list!

One list would be fine for me. I'll take left seat in that RJ 700 and you can all move back. sounds great, beats being on furlough. Don't forget with that one list you would be behind TWA pilots also. Still sound good?

 

[publisher]

Not going to happen

This is one of those non discussable issues as far as AA is concerned. The only way this will ever happen that I can see is if they totally merge both companies and that is unlikely.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Withdrawing from seven routes on April 7: Dallas/Fort Worth to Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas; Dallas/Fort Worth to Lafayette, La.; Chicago to Baton Rouge, La.; New York JFK to Cleveland; New York JFK to Syracuse, N.Y.; Boston to Albany, N.Y.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Barahona, Dominican Republic. These routes are Eagle’s weakest financial performers.

As a Delta Connection pilot who feeds passengers into Delta, let me express a big THANK YOU to my friends at the APA who are busy cutting off thier nose to spite their own faces.

We can use the extra business and Delta can use the extra load factor. If I'm not mistaken that will leave Beaumont, BTR, LFT with only one jet operator (if we return to Beaumont) and of course less competition all around. Higher prices / less competition and Delta growth - Thanks APA

 

[monkeyboy]

Down with scope - up with hope

My bold prediction: Eventually there will be no more "regional airlines".

This latest happening is another development in coming closer to the inevitible - which is - no more regional carriers as we know them today.

First of all, lets ask the question - what is a regional carrier? It used to be that regionals would feed the hubs of the majors. Now regionals are flying the routes of the majors. It used to be that regionals only had turboprops. Eventually they will be all jet.

So what is a regional now? It's merely a low cost subsidiary of a major airline. The lines between regional and major are very blurred and its becoming more and more so.

What is the difference between a CRJ 70 and a F - 100? About 30 seats. What is the pay rate difference? I believe an FO on a F 100 makes more that a Captain on a CRJ? Does this make sense?

There used to be a large perceived difference in what a commuter pilots job and a major airline pilots job. Now there is absolutely no difference (Except that a commuter pilots pay, benefits and schedule are less).

So now you may as well consider the regionals "C scale pay airlines".

I think APA and AlPA national are starting to understand that there should be no excuse for letting such poor working conditions exist for any airline pilot. And the only way to stop the expansion of low cost carriers (Wholly owned by the majors no less!) Is to bring up the pay scales for all pilots.

The only way to do this is pilot unity - and I do mean all pilots.

The combining of both lists is a win situation for all parties involved. American pilots would not loose any seniority. And they would gain flexibility by being able to bid "Regional Jets" if they chose. AE pilots would not have to worry about anybody else moving ahead of them eventhough they have been working for AMR for years. And yes "the company" would benefit by being able to fly whatever they want where they want. Not to mention the increase in employee morale and the more unified feeling of the employees. And of course American would be able to expand again.

Of course the bean counters just look at the cold hard numbers and have no idea what supposedly saving a couple of bucks does to pilot morale and productivity.

 

[~~~^~~~]

Monkeyboy - good post!

 

[Draginass]

Ah, now I see! It's all APA's fault. No responsibility on regional pilots for signing labor contracts for sub-par compensation. It's very easy to blame other groups while you willingly work for sub-par compensation.

While it seems that our regional collegues know what needs to be done, but don't have even a clue on how to do it as a matter of practicality.

 

[Ameriagle]

It is a case of the "tail wagging the dog" at this point. It is a poor mess AMR is in.

Another reality is this: AMR and Eagle has the Brazilians and Canadians pumping out RJ's as fast as they can. The financing for these aircraft has long since been in place and no doubt the routes they will be utilized on have been decided. So now Eagle starts to bump up against an ASM cap that was negotiated in APA's last contract. The question I have for the APA members on this board is how effective is your scope clause really? To date NO JET ORDERS have been deferred. If your narrow body flying is being outsourced, to RJ's, well it is just gonna happen cause the jets are on the way. Many of the routes flown by the RJ are the point to point legs that you are trying to protect. What, in my humble opinion, could contribute to the long term health of AA is the turbo-prop routes that still truely feed the mainline carrier. These are the routes AMR is willing to sacrafice to keep within the guidelines of your SCOPE! How does that serve APA's best interest and in anyway help your pilots back into the cockpit?

Unfortunately many good folks are about to lose their jobs needlessly and that is the shame of the whole thing. As stated in an above post (from an assumed APA member)....we operate in a capacity to help ourselves first......apparently no matter what the cost to others....or in this case themselves it seems!

 

[FOAgain]

Believe it or not, there are many here at Eagle that fully and completely support the APA pilots. They were smart enough to see this coming when they wrote the SCOPE clause. I applaud them for not backing down under AMR's heavy media pressure.

How can an Eagle pilot complain about our outsourcing, and in the same breath, blame APA for all that is happening?

AA Connection is to Eagle as Eagle is to APA

Integration is the answer. This would not be easy, but in the end, I think it would make a very strong airline. I think most Eagle pilots would be satisfied with our current pay/benifits if we knew we were AA pilots, and could eventually bid directly into AA aircraft. How does this cost the company more? It doesn't. They could completely cut AE management thus saving even more money.

AMR's biggest concern is that we would fight to raise the pay of RJ pilots and put them in line with mainline wages. It will never work without the "new B scale."

 

[Draginass]

The APA membership will never go for another B-scale. The bitter taste of the last one made sure of that. If integration occurred any new aircraft would have negotiated rates of pay just like any other aircraft. However, benefits, retirement, etc. must be uniform.

APA isn't going to give away scope. Period, dot. The ASM cap and acft cap will hold, and AMR has said (at least until they change their mind) that they will respect the scope clause. (Why? Not because they're nice guys, but because they know they'll lose in court.) The ball is in AMR's court. If they decide to cut feed and damage their core business, ok -- but I think that's an empty threat. AMR can order all the RJs they want, but they aren't going to fly them past the ASM/acft caps. You guys seem to be genuflecting to the alter of the RJ, but in many analyst's opinions, it's a relatively short-term phenonoma. Part of the future, but not THE future. As ridership and air traffic conjestion increases, small jets will decrease in importance.

AE ALPA's real threat is the outsourcing of their jobs to the likes of CHQ and TSA.

One more time . . . can any regional guy out there tell me, in practical and specific terms, how AE and APA would force/convince AMR to integrate? With AE's 16-year no-strike contract, what legal leverage does AE ALPA bring to the fight????? None of you guys seem to want to answer that. What's YOUR contribution to the fight??? You guys can't keep your own jobs from being outsourced, so you want APA pilots to put on furlough while AMR substitutes cut-rate RJ labor for mainline flying??

Still waiting for a rational, fact-based, legally valid, management acceptable and union acceptable solution.