Airline Pilot Central Forums - Envoy Withholds CA Upgrades

They'll never let you upgrade from E175 FO to CA...

May 19, 2016

Fellow Envoy Pilots,

It is with significant frustration that we write you, yet again, to discuss more unfavorable news.

The Company released flow plan 1605 on Wednesday May 18, 2016. Within the document was exciting news for many senior First Officers regarding their long awaited upgrade class, but for twelve of our current E175 First Officers, the news was dour. The Company has decided to withhold these dozen pilots from upgrade training due to management’s self-inflicted staffing difficulties.

Summertime is the busiest time of the year for airlines. The MEC has done everything in its power to avert this avoidable withholding, as well as warn the Company that without serious action, harm would come to this pilot group when that unpredictable travel season arrives.

That time has come. While Section 15 authorizes withholding and provides that the affected First Officers will earn Captain pay for the entire time that they are considered “withheld” (commencing the earlier of the posted effective date for the vacancy or the date a junior pilot assumes the status), they will not receive the withholding pay until they have completed training themselves. The precedent and resultant harm to the morale of this pilot group will be long lasting.

The MEC’s hope was to pro-actively avert this situation through constructive and collaborative progress towards long-term contractual improvements. We highlight, yet again, that without new hires Captain Wilson’s projected 2.5-year upgrade and 5.5-year flow will never materialize. Moreover, without a contract, airline, and operation that attracts and retains pilots in sufficient quantity, the entire airline’s future is in jeopardy. Envoy management has doubted our warnings about staffing and training concerns, and has resisted us at the bargaining table as we try to secure the future of our carrier in this competitive job market.

We are doing everything possible to convince management that its continued reliance on old ways of thinking and handling of Labor’s concerns is doing far more harm to recruitment and retention than any amount of consternation on social media.

In the Tuesday May 17, 2016 “Today@Envoy”, Mr. Kenji Hashimoto gave kudos to the hardworking E175 team.

"Congratulations Team Envoy on reaching yet another outstanding E175 milestone!" said Kenji Hashimoto, American's Senior Vice President, American Eagle. "It means a lot to American that we can rely on Envoy to safely and reliably provide a great travel experience for our customers. Keep up the great work!"

What Kenji said is laudable and true. However, the withheld First Officers have each given nearly a decade of service to Envoy. We need to remember that without these senior pilots paving the way as part of the initial cadre, the E175 program would not be off to the successful start it is currently enjoying. It is a demonstrated fact that forward thinking airline managements attract qualified new hire pilots with contractual advancements, career opportunity, varied base locations, and more positive Labor/Company relationships. On the other hand, a management team repels qualified pilot applicants when they create conditions that are perceived as an impediment to career advancement.

The Association will continue to offer proposals that will improve our staffing model and ability to perform more of AAG’s flying. We look forward to achieving meaningful improvements that enhance Envoy’s competitiveness.

Fraternally,

Your Envoy MEC