Envoy Air to offer pilots triple pay in July as they continue their effort to combat flight cancelations

American Airlines’ largest regional carrier Envoy Air is offering pilots triple the pay to pick up trips in July in an effort to avoid flight disruptions during the peak summer travel season. This follows Envoy’s recent announcement saying the airline would raise pilots’ pay by 50 percent until August 2024 to combat the industry-wide shortage of pilots; this pay hike places Envoy pilots among the highest paid in the regional industry.

Envoy operates 163 aircraft and employs over 2,500 pilots; the airline expects to lose as many as 300 pilots to American Airlines’ mainline fleet this year due to its flow-through program.

American Airlines CEO Robert Isom recently said the carrier’s regional partners, such as Envoy, were forced to park up to 100 aircraft this summer due to the pilot shortage.

Envoy said, “Supercritical coverage has been declared from July 2 to 31 for all the airlines’ bases” the statement continued, “Any open time flown during this time frame will be paid at 300%. Thank you in advance for your help.”

This temporary pay raise will allow the airline to minimize the summer travel disruptions that have been heavily affecting airlines worldwide, with over 2,800 flights canceled in the U.S. alone on Memorial Day weekend.

According to a report published by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) last week, consumer complaints against airlines have skyrocketed to over 300 percent above pre-pandemic levels.

The U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg met with top airline executives ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend to help prevent disruptions. Buttigieg said his office would consider taking enforcement actions against airlines that do not adhere to consumer protection laws in abid to help protect travelers.

With the July pay incentive, the airline hopes to stay ahead of the curve as pilots pick up overtime, triggering the triple-pay incentive. The incentive will only be offered when open trips are available as overtime. It is important to note that this does not apply to trips within a pilot’s regular flight schedule; it will only apply on open trips.

Source: Aviation Weekly News