NY UPDATE 06-20-2015

FLOWTHU & 824
For the month of June, Envoy sent zero pilots to mainline via the flowthrough process. Earlier in the year, we had been briefed to expect minimal numbers in June, possibly 5 flowthroughs, but zero was unexpected. Meanwhile, PSA sent three and PDT sent three. This past Friday the MEC leadership sat down with an AAG representative to discuss this matter and chart a remedy, as well as craft a strategy to ensure Envoy pilots receive their proper placement at AA.


BASE TRANSFERS

Many NY pilots are not satisfied with their current base transfer schedule, and either want to leave sooner or remain later. We have had success with the Company allowing pilots in the same status to swap transfer dates. In order for two pilots to swap dates, they must both be straight base transfers; no training, equipment or seat changes allowed. If you would like to expedite or delay your transfer the first step of the process is for you to locate another pilot to swap with. Once located the process works like this:

1.) Pilot #1 - send an email to the pilot you wish to swap with. Include your name, employee number, base/seat/equipment, transfer date and that you are willing to swap with the other pilot.

2.) Pilot #2 - upon receipt of the email, pilot #2 will forward the email to Adam and me and include your name, employee number, base/seat/equipment, transfer date and that you are willing to swap with the other pilot.

3.) Adam and I will format and send this request through the MEC to the Company. Thus far, the Company has not denied any requests and several pilots have swapped transfer dates.


PAYROLL ACCOUNTING

The Association created payroll audit spreadsheet is just about ready for rollout. Once it is ready, volunteers trained in its use will begin limited in-base training. We’ve had a sneak peek at the spreadsheet and we are very excited it. The ability to audit your pay and determine whether you were paid correctly is something this pilot group has wanted for years.


SCHEDULING ISSUES

We were promised several months ago that our schedules would improve by July. As we can all see, the company has failed to follow through on their promise. There is no excuse for the extremely low level of productivity and commutability our pilots are facing daily here at Envoy. Our pilots come to work to fly, not to sit around in airports and hotels. There is no reason for a 4 day trip away from home to only have 10-14 hours of pay credit. We don't come to work 75hrs TAFB only to spend 60 hours sitting in hotels or wasting time sitting around airports. We come to work to earn money, and that only happens when we're actually flying.

Our pilots are down to 11 and 12 days off and with the poor schedules they are often required to come to work on their day off the night before their trip, or their trip finishes so late that they must use a day off to travel home. The end result is that the meager 11 days off is very often reduced to a paltry 7 days off at home with family. THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE.

Quality schedules will make productive pilots. And productive pilots will be happy pilots. Happy pilots not only go the extra step to ensure operations run smoothly, but also are natural recruiters… telling the world how good it is to work here, which is exactly what Envoy needs right now.


SAFETY ISSUE

Lately, scheduling has been increasingly creative in their dealings with pilots. Our normal Reserve Availability Period (RAP) is a 14 hour duty period where a pilot must remain "on call" and if needed come fly for the company. Under the old FAR 121 duty rules, a RAP was not considered a duty period. A pilot on an early morning RAP of 4AM would normally only be usable until 6PM. A 10AM RAP would remain available from 10AM until 2AM.

The company is now calling these early morning reserve pilots once their duty period begins at 4AM to release them from their RAP, assign a new "rest period" and simultaneously assign them a flying assignment that begins later that day. They could not simply give the pilot the trip within the existing RAP because it would exceed the allowable duty period, so by "technically" releasing them from their RAP on paper it gives the pilot a legal rest period prior to the trip sign in later that day. Just because a schedule is legal does not mean it is safe.

Worse, if the pilot becomes fatigued after being awake all day and does not feel safe to perform the flights he must by law remove himself from those flights. However, our company’s FRMP seems to indicate that you cannot be fatigued on day one at work, and as a result of the pilot complying with the legality to remove himself, the company then docks his pay.

This is just one example of how Crew Scheduling is using any trick in the book to assign an open flight"on paper" without regard to the human factors of pilots needing rest.


RESERVE RULES

The company continues their practice of re-interpreting our CBA in new ever more troubling ways. The new practice of preassigning 0400 RAP'sis subverting our proffering and seniority-based system. A grievance has been filed over the issue and we are have faith that an arbitrator will eventually back our interpretation.
Meanwhile, the daily harm to employee relations by this practice can almost not be measured. Management decisions and processes that produceschedules with only 7 nights at home a month, threats of unpaid removals, and unproductive inefficient tripswill eventually push people too far. Like a rubber band, you can only stretch it so far before it breaks. Adam and I have repeatedly brought the message to upper management that this can not continue. Since their ‘violations’ of the CBA and questionableinterpretations of gray areas are producing results favorable to management, they seem unwilling to make any changes at this time.

We have 1/3rd of our entire pilot group on reserve. Reserve is supposed to be a short period before advancing in seniority to hold a line. At this airline, they have mismanaged the schedules and the workforce to the point that our pilots aren't on reserve for just a few months; we have pilots who have been on reserve for several YEARS. To compound the issue, with the imposed CBA violations we have the WORST reserve system in the entire regional industry.

Why would any potential newhire consider coming to Envoy when other airlines feature better working conditions?


RAY OF SUNSHINE

We are told we get to keep our CRJ-700's a few months longer before they transfer to PSA. In other words, PSA can't take our planes right away, so AAG wants us to keep flying them until PSA can catch up, and then they'll transfer the aircraft.

We were told we get to get some Mesa flying back in DFW, but it's only for a few months, while Mesa catches up on some training issues; then that flying returns back to them.

Rumors are also swirling that Envoy may keep other aircraft longer than planned, and stabilize at our present size. If this occurs while receiving E175s, Envoy would be entering a growth mode that, coupled with our flowthrough and some newhires, could make Envoy a viable choice from which aspiring pilots can launch a career.

The company says we will have upgrades of 230 pilots over the next 17 months. We await an actual vacancy announcement, which can’t come soon enough.

On one hand, it’s great to be able to pull through in a pinch and provide quality service to AAG when others can not, but it is disappointing that we are being assigned to cover others's shortcomings while AAG still plans to send ‘our’ planes away anyway.


THE FLIP SIDE

The other side of the coin is the company "says" that all our pilots will flow to AA within the next 6 years. They also "say" that new hire upgrade time is now 2.5 years. I think most of our pilots welcomed the news; yet are still waiting for proof of their claims, and action to back it up. Our 8 year FO's still waiting to upgrade, and our 16 year CA's still waiting to flow would like to believe this is true, but aren't yet seeing the action to support the claims.


In Unity,

Ray & Adam