SPECIAL EAGLEWIRE FOR DEC 20, 2011
Published Especially for the Employees of American Eagle
* * * * PLEASE POST ON ALL BULLETIN BOARDS * * * *
December 20, 2011
Eagle and Executive Employees,
Last week, I provided an update on the ongoing review of contracts and aircraft leases and the negotiations with our vendors and lessors that are a part of the restructuring process – all designed to help lower our costs to competitive levels. Specifically, we advised that a decision would be forthcoming about the future of the ATR fleet. These aircraft are nearing the end of their lease terms and AMR has been carefully evaluating whether to accelerate their return.
This week, the decision was made to do just that – beginning with the ATRs that are based in DFW. We plan to retire the first six ATR aircraft, which are no longer in active service, at the beginning of the year. Effective Jan. 31, we will remove the 15 ATRs currently operating out of the DFW hub from service and return them shortly thereafter to the lessor. Eagle will continue to serve the 14 ATR markets from DFW with a combination of EMB-140 and EMB-145 jets. We anticipate that the remaining ATR aircraft will continue to operate in Miami and San Juan for the near term.
In order to meet this very tight deadline, we have identified all of the necessary schedule changes and will submit them today, to appear in SABRE this coming weekend. In order to replace the ATR flying with regional jets, we will reduce frequency in a few select markets and discontinue seasonal service from DFW to Augusta, Ga., as well as service from Chicago to Tri-Cities, Tenn. (Eagle does not have ground employees in either city.) Eagle will continue to serve Savannah, Ga., and American will maintain service to Fort Myers, Fla., from DFW, but Eagle will cease service to both cities from Miami. In addition, three previously-announced cancellations planned for Feb. 9 (Los Angeles-Boise, Chicago-Calgary and DFW-Fayetteville, N.C.) will be advanced to Jan. 31. We plan to notify the affected airports, customers and community leaders shortly.
Clearly, the timing of this announcement so close to the holidays is unfortunate – but we are committed to sharing information with you as soon as we can. We regret the impact on our people – not only the DFW-based Executive Airlines employees and those who work in support of that operation who are directly affected, but the other employees who may also be impacted through displacement.
Since we advised everyone at Eagle and Executive of a possible reduction in my letter last week, we have been working to define the exact number of employees who might ultimately be affected.
We will continue to update you and will provide employees who are impacted by the changes with all of their options in early January.
The restructuring process to shape American Eagle into a more competitive and successful company is both complex and challenging. But we are committed to working swiftly and making the necessary changes toward providing a brighter future for all of us.
Thank you again for all you do, despite the obvious distractions, to run a safe and reliable airline for our customers.
Dan Garton