Originally Posted by
PilotCrusader
More CRJ flying to be retained
Envoy to Retain More Bombardier CRJ-700 Flying
Dear Envoy team –
I’m pleased to report that Envoy pilot staffing has steadily improved in recent months, enabling us to operate more of the flying American Airlines asks us to perform. As a result, we’ll continue to operate some of our aircraft longer than previously announced and the rate at which we transfer aircraft from Envoy to PSA will decrease.
In recent months, it has become apparent that an increasing number of Envoy pilots are choosing to stay on the Envoy team and enjoy a direct career path to American. Envoy’s agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which represents our pilots, provides industry leading "flow-through" rights to American for all existing and new hire Envoy pilots. In addition, AAG has made a substantial investment, placing 40 new 76-seat Embraer 175 (E175) jets in the Envoy fleet, with options for up to 90 more. Envoy is hiring new pilots and welcoming back pilots returning from leaves of absence. Lower attrition and increased hiring mean that Envoy is steadily building our capability to fly more aircraft than previously forecast.
Specifically, American has informed me that the transfer of the Bombardier CRJ-700 aircraft from Envoy to PSA will be slower than initially planned. We will now transfer 12 instead of 18 CRJ-700s to PSA during 2015. Envoy will continue to fly the remaining fleet of 35 CRJ-700s until transfers to PSA are expected to resume in the second half of 2016.
All of this is great news for the Envoy team. For our pilots, this means that we will be posting additional CRJ Captain vacancies in the Chicago domicile and will offer more Captain positions in the large RJ pay range. For flight attendants, this means substantially more two-person aircraft will be in service and we will resume new hire classes this fall. For our mechanics, this means that we will have more planes to work on, preserving jobs.
Across Envoy, there is a tremendous amount of work being done to prepare for our upcoming fleet renewal and ensure a smooth introduction of the E175 later this year. The initial groups of pilots have been trained and many of the training, manuals, and procedures are in final development to become the first American Eagle carrier to offer this enhanced two-class E175 service to American’s customers from DFW.
Thank you for all you do – for our customers and each other.
Pedro Fábregas
Please tell me this isn't the "big news".
Sure, it's a shot in the arm, but a very minor one. Let's put this into perspective. First of all, considering PSA's growing pains, Envoy's present overstaffing (aren't A LOT of pilots on reserve ?) and what PSA management has had to do, the delay in transferring a handful of CRJ's is not unexpected to give the rapidly expanding PSA some breathing room. I have to hand it to Pedro for putting a lot of colorful and sugary frosting on what is essentially just bland sponge cake. Between him and Wilson, they have a good PR person writing their schtick. 6 jets for upwards of a year means 60 more flying jobs and 30 more captains (or perhaps slightly less on a 9+ pilots per aircraft staffing model), 30 of which are captains making that extra $4.50/hour or so and hey, that's all nice and fine, but they still plan to transfer all of Envoy's CRJ's and it would seem shrink.
As for the spin that pilots are CHOOSING to stay at Envoy, I can't believe they're contacting legacy carriers or LCC's and asking them to delete their apps as Pedro seems to insinuate. It's more like just a temporary ebb in the ebb and flow of pilot hiring at other locations. In reality, this is not an altruistic move to throw Envoy or its pilots a bone, but rather a business decision to ensure the morphing of Envoy's flying to others goes smoother while concurrently ensuring Envoy's introduction of 175's goes smoother as well early next year. Flight attendants have high attrition and so hiring there is not surprising. All in all, I see the announcement of a known business decision fluffed up to make it sound better than it really is, just like the letter and that poster of Envoy blowing its flow-through horn with a picture of a jet operated by someone else (RAH E-175 ?).