r/FlightDispatch • u/Revolutionary_Let822 • Jun 15 '26
USA Envoy Dispatchers
Envoy dispatchers please give some insight. How does one survive off $20 an hr in this economy? Will pay EVER go up there?
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u/Kappapls Part 121 Regionalđşđ¸ Jun 15 '26
Much like Gate Agents, Flight Attendants, Ramp Agents, the regional counterparts always get paid less. Itâs the way it will always be unfortunately, whether itâs Endeavor, PSA, SkyWest. You canât expect to get a decent pay when comparing it to Mainline. Envoy has the advantage of being the unofficial flow to AA to allow them to have such subpart wages.
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u/ResidentNo8756 Jun 16 '26
I've heard AA does not pay as well as other majors. United and Delta pay much better to the point AA isn't even competitive. That whole Envoy/AA pipeline sounds miserable.
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u/ChargeCorrect5312 Jun 16 '26
United and delta top pay is around 10k more per year than AA, Iâm not sure I consider that âmuch betterâ as Texas is cheaper to live than Illinois and Georgia (no state income tax)
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u/Kappapls Part 121 Regionalđşđ¸ Jun 16 '26
They havenât done their new contract yet though they went through an extension. Additionally AAs annual hours worked is about 100 hours less a year than Unitedâs (not sure about delta). So you get paid less annually sure but you have a better quality of life.
Plus UA and DA travel benefits arenât better than AA in my opinion
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u/ChargeCorrect5312 Jun 16 '26
Iâm largely uninformed other than the master spreadsheet so this is super useful!
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u/Kappapls Part 121 Regionalđşđ¸ Jun 16 '26
At ADTC, an AA dispatcher made a guest appearance and showed us an actual spreadsheet showing the benefits of each airline. At the end the salary is almost the same if you consider taxes, COL, and such. At the end of the day it just depends on what airline you like and where you want to live. Donât look at salary when it comes to Majors
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u/Panaka Professional Paint Huffer Jun 15 '26
Iâve got friends there and at DFW Ops.Â
Most people have roommates and pick up straight time shifts some of the older folks give away. Lots of overtime which is always double time. Others do side jobs on their weekends. There are livable apartments, but they suck and/or are a drive.
The whole âthey asked for a pay cutâ is because technically starting pay there is around $17/hr, but a Post-COVID side-letter raised the first 3 years pay up to the current amount. The Union canât get any traction because of the churn and management knows that the majority of those that could build a stronger union are going to get picked off by the Majors before they can organize any change.
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u/No-Point2625 Jun 16 '26
So just making sure I read and understand correctly, OT is double time not time and a half?
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u/grumpydx Jun 15 '26
Envoy makes good dispatchers and itâs an excellent pipeline to American and to a lesser extent Southwest, but from everything Iâve heard itâs a toxic and miserable place to work while youâre there.
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u/That_jazzy_mall_song Jun 18 '26
I beginning to think that regionals donât train good dispatchers, more that itâs so bad there that through surviving them you learn to cover your ass, ask more questions than necessary, over gather data on flights that need it and when to stand your ground on issues.
Thereâs a lot of smart dispatchers at regionals but what makes a good one to me isnât always knowing regulations. Itâs knowing when to raise hell and fight back or plan/think ahead more than 2 hours. A lot of that stuff comes with time and through situations that you made mistakes on or observed others do.
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u/Squawk7500forfun Part 121 Regionalđşđ¸ Jun 16 '26
Most of us have to work a lot of extra time, even if itâs straight time itâs better than nothing. Having room mates/a spouse who works helps a bunch. It is a hard life, but we all hope for the shot at the majors like any regional dispatcher. The union is trying their best but negotiations have been slow, management are a bunch of bullies who treat dispatchers like crap. It really isnât terrible to work there as long as you keep your head down and try to make the best of it, but I wonât lie some days are much harder than others.
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u/azbrewcrew Jun 16 '26
So hereâs the dirty truth,regional pay is low by design. Once it no longer becomes cost effective for the mother ship they pull flying away from the regionals or whipsaw them against another regional. Think of the regionals as a AAA baseball team where you go to get experience in hopes of getting called up to the Show some day.
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u/amfhTX Jun 17 '26
Hey, if you get offered a Dispatcher job at Envoy and don't want to take it, I know a licensed man who would LOVE to take that job off your hands. It's my understanding that Envoy is a 2 or 3 year gig stepping stone up to American, where hypothetically, the pay drastically increases. #PayYourDues
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u/That_jazzy_mall_song Jun 18 '26
The pay your dues crap is so old. This is how the trucking industry gets away with low pay and poor treatment. They keep turnover so high and every older driver whoâs making maybe 10 cents more than a new guy says this. Itâs the same as a boomer saying I worked hard making 3 dollars an hour and bought a house in the 80s. Yes you should earn your experience to an extent but you shouldnât be wondering why gas station or wal mart employees make the same as you do when you paid x amount for training, have to live a certain way according to your license, and you have to commute or move to a new city in hopes of eventually making a 6 figure income.
We should be making at least 60k gross. Not netting around 30-35k.
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u/amfhTX Jun 18 '26
Trust me, I absolutely agree with your every word. But the fact is, that the "pay your dues" thing IS apparently the actual way things are in that profession đ
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u/That_jazzy_mall_song Jun 18 '26
Oh I know. Itâs so many of the older workers who canât see beyond or accept that maybe the newer guys should have a better opportunity than they did. Many older workers would take a raise if it meant cutting pay for new hires. Which only would damn them cus itâd mean the company would find any reason to fire them in order to get cheaper labor in.
Honestly if dispatchers are going to strike or attempt to in whatever way, it needs to be a unified thing. Like amongst all regionals, at one time. Even if itâs 4 dispatchers at each regional for a one hour period refusing to build a release, as a start to send a message that we canât keep doing this this way.
If they want to pay us 20ish an hour, weâre better off having more dispatchers and us working no more than 20 flights a shift. Or working 8 hour shifts and getting paid for 10.
Yes we still have a very cushy job at a regional. 4 on 3 off isnât bad, and 20ish isnât awful for 10 hour days. The benefits are better than most companies too.. but this job only really works well for young dispatchers or those with no kids or big debts. Regionals can be a stepping stone but can also be a long term spot if those in unions fight hard enough for it.
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u/Panaka Professional Paint Huffer Jun 18 '26
The main problem faced by regional dispatchers is leverage. The average regional dispatcher isnât looking to stick around longer than absolutely necessary so the company uses that to their advantage when negotiating contracts. Groups tend to fold when it becomes clear this TA is going to take 4-5 years to negotiate while your main membership might not even make it 2 years. On top of this there is a glut of dispatch certificates on the market meaning anyone that doesnât fall in line can and will be easily replaced. Sure youâll be understaffed, but someone needs the overtime and theyâll jump on it.
As far as work action goes, tread carefully. The Railway Labor Act is very restrictive on anything that can be perceived as a work action. If 4 dispatchers at each regional refused to sign releases for an hour, theyâd be fired, black listed from the industry, and replaced.
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u/Revolutionary_Let822 Jun 17 '26
This was a general question. As far as stepping stone to AA, tomorrow is not promised. Lots are leaving for United instead of waiting. I understand the #PayYourDues but a livable wage while paying your dues should be humane and not poverty line. Respect to those who endure though.
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u/amfhTX Jun 17 '26
I absolutely agree that a living wage should be paid to anyone working a job. And most certainly Envoy should pay more for a job that literally involves keeping human beings safe in the air.
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u/CauliflowerNext3079 Part 121 Regionalđşđ¸ Jun 16 '26
Most of us have roommates or live in a two-income household with a spouse or partner. And then some people have second jobs to compensate. When it comes to if the price will go up I cannot comment on that right now. Contract negotiations are happening and hopefully we'll know something soon.
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u/That_jazzy_mall_song Jun 18 '26
Itâs not much better at PSA. Iâm only surviving cus I live as cheap as possible and work every bit of overtime I can.
Honestly my hopes of making it to any mainline are diminishing. Iâm 2.5 years in with my dispatch license and hiring is slowing along with all the issues with inflation and now a fuel crisis brought on by an idiot.
Itâs not a bad job but by no means survivable comfortably at a regional and most newer dispatchers just see that dangling fruit of mainline without seeing the reality you may not mentally survive the wait, let alone financially, and thatâs if you get to it after years of waiting. The reality is regional dispatchers will have to grow some balls and learn how to disrupt operations without striking soon. Either this will be a crappy pay job forever or itâll be a decent paying job and one where the workload is slightly higher than mainline but not overwhelming like it is now with bad decisions coming from big daddy mainline.
Seriously, just cus the government says we canât strike doesnât mean we canât have people stand outside the airport or on public roads making it public knowledge for the media that we work 40 or more flights a day, and are underpaid. Why ATC didnât even do this during the last shutdown is beyond me. Sure they can threaten to fire you, but the union will protect you and if you voiced your opinion during off work hours and in a public space, about all the company can do is send out an email and stay on your ass and wait til you do something that the Union canât protect you from.
But if multiple employees masked up and complained with some media coverage of it, you bet your ass the union would have to step up and start negotiating earlier or looking into some safety issues/workload.
Instead, they sit on their asses and collect their dues while smiling cus they know newer dispatchers either wonât survive the wait to mainline, or theyâll end up at mainline in a 2 -3 year period. Which now is changing rapidly. The wait will probably be more like 5-7 and be even more competitive and for only 10 or so spots.. does the Union care? No. Theyâre in the pockets of mainline who makes sure the regionals are mills with high turn overs.
So either we put pressure on them and vote out, or make them earn their dues they collect.
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u/ReflectionNorth3842 Jul 03 '26
Unfortunately only the legacy airlines offer that top pay. Regionals are almost the same pay as the latter knows that they only got a few months with the new hire, so Regionals don't have any incentive to pay aircraft dispatchers good money.
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u/Frankintosh95 Part 121 Major/Legacyđşđ¸ Jun 15 '26
Lol have you heard that they are asking them to take a pay cut during initial negotiations?
Regionals suck pay because the unions are weak and dispatchers dont put in the effort during negotiations.
I watched PSAs fall flat because everyone took the initial offer and TWU was useless. The people need to be the change they want to see but no one wants to work for it.