American to Close Envoy Hub in Miami, Halve Operations & Displace 478 Employees

Envoy Air, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based carrier owned by American Airlines, will cut flights and close hub operations at Miami International Airport (MIA) by spring 2015.

Envoy Air will close its hub at Miami International Airport (MIA) by April of next year. According to a report from the South Florida Business Journal, obtained company memos indicate that about 478 local Envoy employees based at MIA, who will lose their jobs when the hub closes, will be eligible to apply for positions at Envoy’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and O’Hare International Airport (ORD) hubs.

An October 3 letter to employees from Envoy President and CEO Pedro Fábregas stated that the carrier would cut nearly half of its flights at MIA by mid-December. The airline currently operates 60 daily flights at MIA. Fábregas said Envoy will reduce that number to 37 by December 18.

Envoy is one of the largest regional airlines in the world. The carrier, which operates as American Eagle, is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines. Envoy has 220 aircraft and offers around 1,300 daily flights to over 170 cities.

Despite the hub closure, Envoy plans to continue operating in MIA, but American spokeswoman Maria Thomas told the Journal that 245 pilots and 124 flight attendants would no longer be based at the airport and their positions would begin to phase out in January. Thomas gave no indication that the airlins has plans to scale back operations at Envoy’s other major hubs at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) or Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

According to Thomas, Republic Airlines, an Indianapolis-based carrier also operating American Eagle flights, will increase is presence at MIA as Envoy scales back its operations.

[Photo: Miami International Airport]