Per ALPA LEC from open msg board"...Future of the Airline – The airline has changed significantly over the last six months. Envoy has gone from being completely understaffed to being overstaffed and offering zero time lines. At the end of 2015, Envoy will have shrunk by 62 aircraft compared to the beginning of the year. However, as stated in previous letters by Management, Envoy is scheduled to only shrink by an additional 6 aircraft at the end of 2016. This is welcomed news for the employees of Envoy because it means the airline will remain relatively stable for the next year. However, there are still significant hurdles Envoy Management will need to overcome; three years of bad news after bad news affecting Envoy has created considerable negative momentum for our carrier. While it appears Envoy could be at the bottom of that trajectory, it will take a concerted effort and action on Managements part to improve morale at the airline and make Envoy a desirable destination for new hire pilots.



Fleet Plan – While Management could not release a specific fleet plan, they did explain some positive changes to our future fleet. The transfer of the 20 EMB-145’s to Piedmont is now scheduled to begin in January at 1 aircraft per month. As previously announced, the transfer of our remaining CRJ-700’s has been delayed until the last half of 2016 at a much slower rate than originally advertised. Chris Pappaioanou stated that the EMB-145’s that were transferred to Trans-States could come back to Envoy as early as late next year as the contract per aircraft expires when each aircraft is scheduled for its next C-Check. There are similar provisions for the EMB-145’s transferred to ExpressJet. Mr. Pappaioanou also indicated it’s possible for Envoy to once again operate those aircraft depending on our cost and performance.



Flow Through – AAG has publicly announced it will require 300 flow through pilots from Envoy as it plans to hire 600 total pilots at AA in 2016. The process for selecting your base and equipment at AA as a new hire has changed slightly and the Association is getting clarification on those changes. The Association has also presented a solution to Management to allow flow through pilots the option to defer a class if they cannot hold their preference of either L-AA or L-US selection. More information will be forthcoming when it’s available.



Recruitment – Ric Wilson reiterated that Envoy will need 400 new hire pilots between now and the end of next year to properly staff the airline. He also stated there has been an increase in applications, with 28 new hire pilots in August and 12 new hire pilots in September beginning their careers at Envoy. Mr. Wilson also acknowledged the hurdle in getting 400 new hire pilots in this time frame. While Envoy Management has approached AAG with many ideas on ways to attract new hire pilots, those ideas cost money and AAG is not currently willing to entertain those additional costs. Instead, AAG will rely on Envoy’s flow through programs as a major attractant in recruiting new hires.



E-175 Program – The E-175 program is progressing on schedule. Roughly 95% of the paperwork, checklists and behind-the-scenes work have been completed. Also, several hundred of our Flight Attendants have been trained on the aircraft. The first set of E-175 line pilots will begin training next week. Between now and the first revenue flight in February, E-175 crews will be completing IOE, operating proving runs, and building experience in the aircraft.



Envoy Performance & Additional Block Hours – AAG has taken notice and is pleased with Envoy’s recent operating performance. Mr. Pappaioanou stated that over the last 3 months Envoy has taken on additional flying from AAG without harming operational performance. Envoy will continue flying more block hours than originally scheduled throughout the rest of the year; 2,000 additional hours each for September, October, and November and 3,000 additional hours in December. The increase in block hours is welcomed news as it keeps Envoy relatively flat on its schedule versus the original plan to continue shrinking. In October of each year, AAG formulates it plans on block hours for each FFD operator for the following year. Mr. Wilson stated that he will inform the pilot group when this plan is received from AAG and he believes we could see additional good news. LEC 083 Vice-Chairman Kyle Flynn emphasized that pilots should continue to put forth their best effort to improve Envoy’s performance numbers as to make Envoy more attractive for potential additional flying..."