Originally Posted by
fastback
If American does follow thru and shrink Envoy, I think they'll come to regret it. No other regional can staff the carrot jets that were dangled in front of Envoy. Even if AAG contracted with every regional in the US, they will still need the pilots on the Envoy list to staff the fleet size they're talking about.
Comair demonstrated that the regional pilot labor force is not a zero sum population. If a regional airline is parted out, a sizable portion of the pilots will refuse to start over at the bottom of a regional seniority list.
The only realistic way for AAG to shrink Envoy is to put the jets at mainline, and expand the flow from Envoy.
I’m going to respectfully correct you as to the Comair Pilots. As a former Comair pilot, I can attest that a large number of the pilots have had to seek employment at other regionals, at least for a short time to regain or to stay current. You are going to find if AAG places those aircraft at other regionals a large number of Eagle pilots will end up there. Think about it, if a midlevel FO from Eagle thinks they can go to a PSA and upgrade in 6 months to a year I submit to you they will do it. You’re kidding yourself if you think the 175’s are going to end up at mainline anytime soon.