Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

Envoy to move 50 ERJs to other carriers, article

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web

General Lee

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 24, 2002
Posts
20,442
American Airlines to transfer at least 50 jets from Envoy Air to other regional carriers

Terry Maxon/DMN


By Terry Maxon

Published: November 21, 2014 2:05 pm
American Airlines Group plans to move at least 50 jets from its Envoy Air unit to other regional carriers, saying that it can't keep enough pilots to fly the airplanes.

In a letter to Envoy employees, senior vice president Kenji Hashimoto said that at least 20 of the 50-seat Embraer 145 jets will go to Piedmont Airlines, another regional carrier owned by AAG. The rest will go to non-owned partners, Trans States Airlines and another carrier to be named later.

The Envoy pilot union, which had to accept a concessionary contract two years ago while American was in bankruptcy court, has refused to accept more concessions demanded by management, which dangled the promise of larger airplanes and a minimum number of airplanes if they agreed to contract changes.

"This transfer is solely driven by forecasts showing an insufficient number of pilots at Envoy in 2015 to operate our planned schedule. Envoy continues to provide reliable service, its employees serve our customers well and the company remains an important part of American Airlines Group," Hashimoto said in his letter.

"However, in today's competitive environment, pilots want to work for carriers that are actively growing and expanding their fleets. Without a cost-effective pilot agreement in place, Envoy will not secure new jets and faces challenges in recruiting new pilots without the promise of a renewed fleet," he wrote.

"In addition, given the number of Envoy pilots flowing through to American each month or leaving due to normal attrition, Envoy will not have the pilots we need to fly our 2015 schedule. Other regional carriers will," stated Hashimoto, who heads AAG's regional operations.

In a message to Air Line Pilots Association members at Envoy, Master Executive Council chairman Sam Pool did not disagree that the loss of pilots led to Friday's announcement.

"While we are clearly disappointed at the thought of losing four aircraft per month, and the 10 pilot jobs each aircraft represents, the harsh fact is that Envoy is currently losing pilots at an even faster rate as our colleagues seek more rewarding careers elsewhere," Pool wrote.

"We are beyond disappointed that the sacrifice of economic and operational flexibility that this workgroup provided to our parent corporation during the darkest hours of bankruptcy are now considered insufficient, and we again find ourselves facing the demands of concessions in exchange for a viable future," he added.

Pool said the transfer will begin in March when AAG sends two airplanes a month to Trans States Airlines and the other, unnamed carrier. The other 20 will begin moving to Piedmont in 2016, he said.

He also suggested that pilots at Envoy, while disappointed, may have to consider accepting the cuts that pilots at other regional airlines have swallowed:

"Our disappointment should not cloud the reality that we face today. Our reality is that other pilot groups in our segment of the industry have demonstrated their willingness to accept concessions in exchange for new and larger aircraft, and have subsequently agreed to reduce the pilot costs. If we wish to compete in this market, we simply have no choice but to recognize that reality and decide a course of action.

"While it is true that AAG is honoring our bankruptcy contract, the unpleasant fact is that they believe that they can obtain lower cost regional flying from other carriers, and have demonstrated that they will award new aircraft and new flying to those other carriers, leaving our contract and our pilots in an awkward status quo.

"AAG's senior management has made it clear that they desire the new aircraft be flown by the pilots of Envoy. And they have also made it clear that they believe we should cost less. For these reasons, they have remained quietly engaged with your MEC in an attempt to effectuate a mutually acceptable agreement that gently nudges our forward looking economics closer to the perceived market in exchange for the enhanced career security sought by our workgroup.

"The entire MEC remains committed to working with the company to find an agreement that satisfies the needs of both parties, and which we can endorse as the best path forward. We believe that such an agreement is within reach."

Envoy Air, which flies under the American Eagle brand, was called American Eagle Airlines until it was renamed in April. Envoy, Piedmont and PSA Airlines are owned by parent AAG, while a variety of third-party carriers also provide flying for American under the American Eagle or US Airways Express brands.

The Embraer 145 is the most common airplane in the Envoy fleet, with 118. According to spokeswoman Martha Thomas, Envoy will have 199 aircraft as of Dec. 31: the 118 Embraer 145s, 34 of the 44-seat Embraer 140s and 47 of the 65-seat Bombardier CRJ-700s.

Envoy over time is reducing the number of Embraer 140s, which totaled 59 at the end of 2013. In mid-2015, American will begin sending Envoy's CRJ-700s to PSA at the rate of two per month.





Bye Bye---General Lee
 
Last edited:
AA learned well from the big D didnt they?

Welcome to the airline industry. Luckily the big 3 will be hiring a combined 15,000 pilots in the next decade. Good luck.



Bye Bye---General Lee
 
Great, perfect timing for you to get out of that dispatchers office and start flight training. The 10,000 hours of flightsim should help.
 

Latest resources

Back
Top