American triples pay for regional pilots to pick up flights

American Airlines is upping pay bonuses for pilots at two of its regional carriers for critical periods in July, resulting in triple the hourly wage for those willing to fly during their scheduled time off during the busiest stretch of the summer travel season.

The pay bonuses for pilots at Envoy were first reported by CNBC Monday, and the same deal is being offered to pilots at Piedmont, another carrier wholly owned by American, according to a memo to pilots. The incentive comes after Fort Worth-based American and its subsidiaries already bumped up pay for pilots with a surprise new contract two weeks ago that gave a 50% flying bonus through 2024 along with large pay increases.

The “super critical coverage” pay for the month of July is part of an existing program for pilots, only used for the busiest days because it pays more than $550 an hour for some regional captains, more than even mainline American Airlines pilots make.

“It’s a tool that we have in our toolbox and we use it as necessary but this is not a new program for Piedmont,” said Piedmont spokeswoman Crystal Byrd.

The 300% pay rate is only good for “open time,” or time when pilots are not regularly scheduled. But the carriers have recently increased pay to about $90,000 a year for regional pilots.

Byrd said the carrier is still evaluating its schedule to see exactly which and how many days pilots will qualify for the triple pay rate.

Ric Wilson, Envoy’s vice president of flight operations, said the carrier regularly uses bonus pay during busy stretches and holiday weekends. He also said Envoy doesn’t expect any shortages of pilots during the month. The program will be available all month but the triple pay premium will only be available when extra flight shifts are open.