I think the source for AA will be all wholly owns eventually, not just envoy.

 

You have a limited contract re-opener in late 2020 (if the airline profile page is correct). Is the flow protected from being one of the items management wants to change at that time?

To make me or any other zero-121 interested, we have to see solid reasons to think a flow is semi-permanent, not just a management plan to downsize Envoy that will become a broken promise once AA likes the size of Envoy's pilot group.

 

History has proven that contractual provisions are anything but binding. Your reserve section and many of ours including one just in the last couple of days are proof of that. In arbitration to resolve contractual disputes, frequently "gains" are not realized for disputes alleged by labor and history has repeatedly proved that as well. Our first flow had almost a dozen arbitrations and many gave little or no benefit to the disputing party that filed such grievance.

That would imply they will cancel Piedmont's flow which is advertising faster upgrade/flow projections and not offer any such incentives to PSA. Not likely.

It may or may not be in place, but more importantly how "active" it is, is something no one can guarantee.

 

Over 60% of AA new hires since 2013 have come from Envoy. Over the past few months AA has taken only Envoy flows and word trickling down is that street hires at AA will stop completely for the rest of the year to flow more Envoy pilots.

We didn't ask for the flow during the last contract negotiations. AA offered it to us. It's their baby and part of their plan. Why would they get rid of it? How would it benefit them? Those are the questions you need to be asking yourself. There lies your answer. AA benefits from an enhanced Envoy flow-through in more ways than one. Obviously Envoy pilots benefit as well.

And in any case, our amendment round is for quality of life issues. The flow doesn't fall into that category.

 

Anything is negotiable. In reality, Envoy management functions at the direction of AAG and AAG management has several options to modify the present Envoy PPA, inculding several forms of consolidation. That doesn't mean the flow disappears, but it would likely mean dilution for present and future Envoy pilots due to inclusion of other carriers pilots in the flow stream.

Agreed. AAG needs to make a solid commitment and so far, all that has materialized are projections by Envoy management (and Piedmont for that matter), not AAG. The spin and sales occuring here by a few Envoyeurs doesn't change that (something noticably absent among Piedmont pilots here). You'll note what appears to be occuring now is a horse race among the AA in-house regionals to grab as large a slice of the few pilots out there to support their own operations in the hope of becoming a favored partner.

 

Many of those new-hires were from the original flow directed to flow by arbitration before any AA street hiring occured, so I hope you're including that in your representation. The word your hearing differs from the one I heard and that's only for a few months until Fall. There's a reason they may want to do this and it may just not be a reason you want it to be.

The flow was already in place before your most recent agreement to concessions, so Parker didn't "offer" it to you. They offerend an enahnce,ent to what was already on place in exchange for concessions, but that is something different that what you seem to be claiming. Your next amendment round (if you ever get there in your present state, which is unlikely), anything can be put on the table for consideration. Again, IMO, the future Envoy by then will almost certainly include pilots from other carriers via consolidation.

 

What are the chances that AAG may consolidate all three wholly owned pilot groups by 2020 (Envoy, PSA, Piedmont)?Furthermore, what are the chances that AAG may even look elsewhere for consolidation? This is for everyone to chime in, not addressed to anyone in particular.

 

Totally a shot in the dark from a non-121 pilot, but I would think they want to keep separate wholly-owned airlines just to be able to continue the whipsaw.

 

I think all three will be kept separate for the whole whipsaw-aspect of it. Their plan to have PSA operate CRJ's, PDT to operate 145's, and Envoy to operate 175's seems to be coming along just as they want it to.

 

That is precisely correct. Although if/when the 3 carriers start to fall apart because there are no more pilots available to hire, you will see precisely that. In summation, it serves AA best interests right now to keep them separate exactly as you have identified. But there will come a time when that is no longer in their best interests. But even then, that action can't stop what's about to happen to all regional airlines. As some have said already, its a mathematical certainty.