American Airlines Group Inc. plans to move at least 50 jets from its Envoy Air unit to other regional carriers, saying that it can’t keep enough pilots to fly the airplanes.
In a letter to Envoy employees, American senior vice president Kenji Hashimoto said that at least 20 of the 50-seat Embraer 145 jets will go to Piedmont Airlines, another of its regional carriers. The others will go to two other airlines it doesn’t own, including Trans States Airlines.
Hashimoto said pilots “want to work for carriers that are actively growing and expanding their fleets.”
American stopped growing Envoy when it failed to get a pilot contract that was as competitive as ones at its other regional airlines.
A number of Envoy pilots are leaving to join parent American, while others are leaving for other carriers or other reasons. Because of the departures, “Envoy will not have the pilots we need to fly our 2015 schedule. Other regional carriers will,” stated Hashimoto, who heads AAG’s regional operations.
Envoy employs about 2,400 pilots, down about 20 percent from the end of 2012.
The Envoy pilots union, forced to accept a concessionary contract two years ago while American was in bankruptcy court, has refused to accept more concessions demanded by management. American had dangled the promise of larger airplanes and a guaranteed number of airplanes if Envoy pilots agreed to contract changes.
In a message to Air Line Pilots Association members at Envoy, Master Executive Council chairman Sam Pool did not disagree that the loss of pilots led to Friday’s announcement.
“While we are clearly disappointed at the thought of losing four aircraft per month, and the 10 pilot jobs each aircraft represents, the harsh fact is that Envoy is currently losing pilots at an even faster rate as our colleagues seek more rewarding careers elsewhere,” Pool wrote.
The Embraer 145 is the most common airplane in the Envoy fleet, with 118.
In total, Envoy will have 199 aircraft as of Dec. 31. By comparison, it had 224 aircraft as of Dec. 31, 2013, and 254 aircraft at the end of 2012.
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