Envoy Air Inc., the largest wholly owned regional airline subsidiary of American Airlines Group (AAG) announced that it reached an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) to enhance the benefits package for pilots towards improving their quality of life, pay and benefits.
Envoy will provide an additional option to its current $165,000 Bonus and Retention program in which they have the opportunity to receive a portion of their bonuses annually instead of one lump sum at the time they advance to American Airlines.
Additionally, all First Officers upon reaching 750 flight hours with the company will be paid at Captain rates, while waiting to upgrade to Captain. Among the work/life balance benefits are: guaranteeing more days off, overtime pay for holidays, minimum pay guarantees for the time that pilots are at work, improved work rules for pilots on standby assignments, and improvements to how they bid their schedules.
Envoy is also seeking pilots with previous airline experience. Those pilots will be able to carry in their years of service from another airline and can earn up to $37,500 in signing bonuses. For example, for pilots having three years of previous airline experience, they would join Envoy at the year three pay scale.
In the regional airline business, attracting and retaining the highest quality pilots to reliably operate a full schedule is critical to success. Envoy is working closely ALPA to increase our opportunities to staff our cockpits to continue the momentum with our scheduled flying and the additional flights for American Airlines.
“Envoy continues to grow and is committed to recruiting and retaining the best pilots in the industry,” said Captain Ric Wilson, vice president of flight operations. “Combined with our outstanding benefits, privileges and career opportunities, there is no better place to start than Envoy if you’re looking for a life-long career as a commercial airline pilot.”
As a wholly owned subsidiary of AAG, Envoy offers guaranteed flow-through to American without having to interview again – or compete with the thousands of pilots who apply to American every year.
“From these substantial changes to our generous bonus and retention program, a growing fleet of 76-seat Embraer E-175 aircraft, and the increased benefits providing work/life balance for our pilots’ quality of life, career prospects at Envoy are nothing short of outstanding,” said Wilson.
