American Airlines’ Regional Partners Increase Pilot Pay by More Than 50 Percent

Piedmont and Envoy offer massive raises in an effort to stem their pilot shortages and get aircraft back in the air.

Michael Wildes

Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 04:14 PM ET

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Piedmont first officers will now see first-year pay begin at $90 an hour, up from $51. [Courtesy: Piedmont Airlines]

Key Takeaways:

American Airlines' regional subsidiaries, Piedmont and Envoy, are implementing a 50% pilot pay raise until August 2024 to combat severe pilot shortages that led to grounded aircraft.
This significant pay increase positions Piedmont and Envoy pilots as the highest-paid in the regional airline industry, with substantial boosts to first-year salaries for both first officers and captains.
Additional incentives are being offered, including crediting previous airline seniority for pay and guaranteeing mainline pay for long-serving pilots not offered a mainline position, to attract and retain talent.
The move reflects a broader industry trend of pilot wage inflation as airlines aggressively compete for new hires to meet increasing travel demand.

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Regional pilots at two of American Airlines’ (NASDAQ: AAL) wholly owned subsidiaries, Piedmont and Envoy, are getting a 50 percent pay raise from now until the end of August 2024.

This latest move by American’s subsidiaries comes after the CEO of the mainline carrier, Robert Isom, told investors at a conference that its regional partners had to park up to 100 airplanes this summer because there weren’t enough pilots to fly them. The pay raise will make these pilots the highest paid at the regional level, and the airline hopes it will help the company stave off pilot attrition and recruit new hires as demand continues to ramp up.