• American Airlines Tile
    American Airlines
    IATA/ICAO Code:
    AA/AAL
    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier
    Hub(s):
    Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, Miami International Airport, New York JFK Airport, LaGuardia Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
    Year Founded:
    1926
    Alliance:
    oneworld
    CEO:
    Robert Isom
    Country:
    United States
    Airline Group:
    American Airlines Group
    Region:
    North America
    Loyalty Program:
    AAdvantage

American Airlines' regional subsidiaries Envoy and Piedmont are getting a 50% pay rise until August 2024. The hope is to unpark some of the jets that American Airlines needs to supply its regional ops by addressing the ongoing pilot shortage.

The Envoy pay hike

For Envoy, an airline operating more than 185 aircraft on 1,000 daily flights to over 150 destinations with 18,000+ employees, the increase is a step towards its goal of having the highest paid in the regional airline industry and peers. The airline is adding a Pilot Supply Premium of 50% to their hourly pay rate for the next two years, plus 6% for Envoy First Officers and 10% for Envoy Captains until July 2029.

An additional incentive will be that any qualified pilot who has not been offered a position at American Airlines by the end of his or her fifth year of service will be paid afterward at the year 20 Captain rate. It's clear that Envoy is intended to be a pipeline for pilots to flow through to American Airlines. Other major airlines like Alaska Airlines also use their regional airlines as a pipeline for the mainline airline.

Piedmont also raising pay

img_pilots_contract_extension - A Male & Female Piedmont pilot in uniform standing together
Piedmont pilots will recieve 50-70% higher (57% on average) wages than the next highest paid regional carrier on the US East Coast.
Photo: Piedmont Airlines

Piedmont has over 10,000 employees as a regional subsidiary of American Airlines. It will now offer leading pay and compensation in a competitive US East Coast environment. In a June 11, 2022 statement Piedmont's Steve Keefer, Vice President of Flight Operations, said,

We are grateful for a partnership with ALPA that allows us to strategically position Piedmont as the leading American Eagle carrier in performance and reliability and, now, compensation. We want to be the East Coast carrier that outperforms and out pays everyone else, and we want our competition to take notice.

Indeed, the package turns heads. The key components are:

  • A commitment to a five-year flow to American. Pilots who do not flow after completing five full years of service will move to top-of-scale Captain pay ($213 per hour)
  • Compensation for First Officers to get paid on the Captain scale at 750 flight hours
  • Wages will be 50-70% higher (57% on average) than the next highest paid regional carrier, Endeavor.
  • Including all bonuses, a new hire pilot should expect to make 31% more than pilots at Endeavor and 10% more than pilots at leading Ultra Low-Cost Carriers (ULCCs) over the first five years.

This is not a complete list but the critical points of reinvestment in regional aviation by American Airlines.

The ALPA Response

52128027557_1c9bb99b38_k - Captain Joe DePete, President of ALPA Addressing A Crowd
Captain Joe DePete, President of ALPA, makes the point that, "Airlines must offer competitive compensation packages and work rules to attract and retain pilots".
Photo: Air Line Pilots Association via Flickr

The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) put out a statement in response, with ALPA President Capt. Joe DePete says in a crucial part;

For years, regional airlines have tried to skimp and save on the most important safety feature on any flight: experienced, well-trained, and rested pilots on the flight deck. The recent groundbreaking deals at Envoy and Piedmont are an acknowledgment that this approach of shortchanging frontline workers is not working and that airlines must offer competitive compensation packages and work rules to attract and retain pilots.

Does this help give you confidence in the sustainability of regional airlines? Let us know in the comments.