Envoy Air Pilot Requirements 2026: Hours, License and Hiring Process

Envoy Air, the regional airline wholly owned by American Airlines Group, flies Embraer E175s and E170s as American Eagle and hires First Officers who meet the airline transport pilot (ATP) experience: its minimum qualifications ask for an FAA Commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings, 1,500 hours, or the restricted ATP’s 1,250, 1,000 or 750 hours, the ATP written passed, a First Class medical and an age of at least 21. No type rating is needed: the E-Jet is taught in a nine-to-ten-week new-hire course. What sets Envoy apart is its flow-through to American, with no additional interview. Its pilot page offers new First Officers a 50% Pilot Supply premium and Captain’s pay at 750 Part 121 hours, through 31 December 2026; at the last check, on 20 October 2026, we read it in its latest archived copy, of June 2026, beside Envoy’s pilot portfolio of the same month. Its pilots are based at Dallas–Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, Miami and Phoenix, and in May 2026 Envoy announced Washington National as a fifth crew base.

Is Envoy Air hiring pilots now?

Recruiting at the last check on 20 October 2026 — First Officer seat: Recruiting; Captain seat: Unconfirmed. 1,500 h ATP or the restricted ATP’s 750–1,250 h, ATP written passed; E175/E170 training provided; flow to American with no additional interview; 50% premium and Captain pay from 750 h through 31 December 2026

Requirements, as published

Reading the requirements line by line

• The ATP written before you apply. Envoy’s First Officer minimums include the ATP written test, “completed and passed”, beside the hour totals of the airline transport pilot certificate. The test needs the ATP Certification Training Program (ATP-CTP) course first, and Envoy’s portfolio says the course is provided for Envoy Cadets only, so other applicants arrange the course and the test themselves before they apply.
• Envoy’s hour table. 1,500 hours; 1,250 with a qualifying two- or four-year aviation university program and 30 aviation credit hours; 1,000 with 60 aviation credit hours; or 750 for military flight training graduates. The rule behind the lower totals, 14 CFR 61.160, gives the 1,000 hours to a bachelor’s degree with an aviation major and 60 aviation credit hours, and the 1,250 to an associate degree with an aviation major and 30 credit hours or to a bachelor’s with 30 to 59, each from an institution the FAA has authorized, with the commercial certificate and instrument rating trained for in an approved Part 141 curriculum of the institution (the flying may be done at a Part 141 school it has a training agreement with), so check your transcript against the rule as well as the table. In Part 121, a restricted ATP lets you serve as a First Officer only, until you meet the unrestricted ATP’s minimums.
• The other hours. 50 hours of multi-engine fixed-wing time, which may be reduced to 25; 200 hours of cross-country time, the restricted ATP’s figure, where the unrestricted ATP of 14 CFR 61.159 asks for 500; 250 hours as pilot in command of fixed-wing aircraft, with 100 hours of pilot-in-command cross-country; 100 hours of night, 25 of them as pilot in command; and 75 hours of instrument time, actual or simulated, with at least 50 in airplanes.
• The papers and the conditions. A current FAA First Class medical, IFR currency and an FCC license; the ability to work in the US, to travel into and out of the country and to every city and country Envoy serves; and the ability to relocate. We found no visa sponsorship on Envoy’s pages.
• Experience that counts. Pilots with previous Part 121 experience count their years of service toward pay rates, vacation and retirement benefits at Envoy, its page for experienced pilots says, and their hours toward Captain pay as a First Officer, which starts at 750 hours of eligible flight time.

Entry routes

• Direct entry First Officer — the ATP’s 1,500 h or the restricted ATP minimums, with the ATP written passed
• Envoy Cadet Program — students at partner schools (private certificate) and Cadet Instructors (CFI with instrument rating); at the minimums Envoy pays the ATP-CTP course and places the cadet in the next new-hire class with no further interview
• Experienced Part 121 pilots — years of service credited toward pay, vacation and retirement, hours toward Captain pay as a First Officer
• Military fixed-wing and helicopter pilots — restricted ATP from 750 h for military flight training graduates
• American Airlines Cadet Academy — ab-initio through a partner school to a cadet place at Envoy, Piedmont or PSA (American)
• Direct Entry Captain — Envoy publishes a page for the route; we could not open it
• Flow-through to American Airlines — seniority-based, with no additional interview

The cadet program, the flow to American and the pay

Envoy’s pages and its pilot portfolio of June 2026 describe the routes around the First Officer seat:

• Envoy Cadet Program. Two levels. A Cadet holds a private pilot certificate, is enrolled at one of Envoy’s partner schools and passes an HR interview, and receives mentoring. A Cadet Instructor is a flight instructor with instrument airplane ratings who passes Envoy’s Internal Review Board and signs a letter of commitment, and also receives up to USD 15,000 in bonuses and employee travel privileges. At the ATP or restricted-ATP minimums, Envoy pays the ATP-CTP course of qualified cadets who still need the ATP written, with hotel and ground transportation, and cadets who pass the course and the test go into the next available new-hire class with no further interview. The partner list names nearly 40 universities and flight schools across the country.
• American Airlines Cadet Academy. American’s own ab-initio program takes students from zero hours through a partner school to a cadet place at one of its three wholly owned regionals: Envoy, Piedmont or PSA.
• The flow to American. Envoy pilots move to American by seniority, with no additional interview. Each calendar year the flow takes the lesser of 25% of American’s new-hire training places that year, or five places a month, a number raised by one for every 125 pilots above 480 on the seniority list. Envoy’s portfolio sketches about five years from new-hire training and the First Officer seat, through the upgrade to Captain and Captain flying, to the move to American as a First Officer, and adds that times may vary. Envoy calls itself the largest single source of American’s new pilots: two-thirds of American’s new hires since 2010.
• The pay. Envoy’s scale, effective from 10 June 2026 to 10 June 2027, starts a First Officer at USD 102 an hour and a Captain at USD 161.25 in the first year, and the portfolio notes a 50% premium on all pilot hourly rates until 31 December 2026. A First Officer with 750 hours of the flight time that counts under 14 CFR 121.436, such as time as a Part 121 First Officer, is paid the Captain rate for their years of service while still flying as First Officer; to take command in Part 121, the same rule asks for 1,000 hours of such air carrier experience.

Envoy beside the four largest US passenger airlines on our jobs board, as recorded at each airline’s last check:

Each of the four majors starts at 1,500 hours or more, and American’s First Officer posting, as a job board relays it, asks for the unrestricted ATP, so the restricted ATP’s 750 to 1,250 hours open a seat at a regional airline such as Envoy; from there, the flow, not a second application, is Envoy’s way to the mainline.

Selection process

1. Online application on Envoy’s careers site
2. Interview packets (Envoy’s Pilot Interview Tips, in the latest copy we could read, of 2024): a Before Interview Checklist and a Pilot Employment Packet for each flying job of the previous five years, signed, scanned and e-mailed with copies of the license, passport and logbook pages
3. Interview day at Envoy’s headquarters in Irving, Texas, from 8 a.m. (the same 2024 copy): a company briefing, an HR evaluation and a technical evaluation; a simulator evaluation may be required at Envoy’s discretion, notified before the interview is scheduled
4. Result at the end of the interview day, then a background check of a few days to more than a month and a conditional offer, valid for one year (the same 2024 copy)
5. New-hire training of nine to ten weeks (Envoy pilot portfolio, June 2026): indoctrination in Irving, emergency procedures and home study, systems and procedures training in Dallas, simulator training in Dallas or St. Louis, then 5 to 10 days of initial operating experience on the line

Interview day and new-hire training

Envoy’s interview tips set out the day; the latest copy we could read is an archived one of 2024 (the Internet Archive holds no later capture, and Envoy’s live pages refused our downloads), so confirm the details with Envoy’s pilot recruitment when you are invited. You receive three packets, each with its own instructions, among them a Before Interview Checklist of the forms and documents to bring and a Pilot Employment Packet to complete for each flying job of the previous five years; all other jobs of the previous two years are listed too. Print and sign the completed packets, scan them with copies of your license, passport and logbook pages, e-mail them to Envoy’s pilot recruitment, and bring the originals, logbooks included: electronic logbooks are accepted, but Envoy wants to see the endorsement for each rating, and every logbook page should be signed. All pilot interviews are held at Envoy’s headquarters in Irving, Texas, and the day starts at 8 a.m. sharp; a late arrival is rescheduled. After a company briefing, the interview consists of an HR evaluation, which verifies your paperwork and gets to know you, and a technical evaluation of Jeppesen charts, IFR regulations, definitions and weather; a simulator evaluation may be required at Envoy’s discretion, and you are told before the interview is scheduled. You learn at the end of the day whether you were successful; a background check of a few days to more than a month follows, and once it is processed Envoy tells you whether you have a conditional offer. Conditional offers are good for one year.

New-hire training lasts nine to ten weeks, Envoy’s portfolio says, with a single-occupancy hotel, salary and per diem throughout, under its Advanced Qualification Program: for cadets who need them, the seven-day ATP-CTP course and the ATP written in week 0; a five-day indoctrination in Irving, where you bid for base and equipment and receive a company iPad; three days of emergency procedures training and ten days of computer-based training at home, ending in a knowledge validation test; seven days of systems and procedures training and two of flight-deck procedures in Dallas, with a procedures validation; eight days in the simulator in Dallas or St. Louis, a maneuvers validation and a line-oriented evaluation; then 5 to 10 days of initial operating experience on the line with a training Captain.

Bases and fleet

Bases: Crew domiciles at Dallas–Fort Worth, Chicago O’Hare, Miami and Phoenix, all shared with American (Envoy pilot portfolio, June 2026) · Washington National (DCA) announced on 6 May 2026 as Envoy’s fifth crew base; the start date was to be given later · Headquarters in Irving, Texas, where all pilot interviews are held (Envoy’s Pilot Interview Tips, 2024 copy)

Fleet: An all-Embraer fleet since 2023: the 76-seat E175 and the 65-seat E170, flown as American Eagle (Envoy) · More than 180 aircraft and about 1,000 daily flights to more than 160 destinations (Envoy’s company page, 2026) · Growing to at least 214 aircraft by the end of 2027, with further E175 deliveries (Envoy fleet page; release of 6 May 2026)

How to prepare

Envoy flies only Embraer E-Jets, the E175 and the E170, so the E-Jet bank is your type preparation, beside the ATPL theory banks for the general knowledge a technical evaluation draws on. Envoy asks for the ATP written passed before you join as a First Officer, so if you have not sat it, the ATP bank for the FAA’s ATM knowledge test comes first; Envoy pays the ATP-CTP course only for its own cadets. The interview day is an HR evaluation and a technical evaluation, with a simulator evaluation at Envoy’s discretion; the technical evaluation covered Jeppesen charts, IFR regulations, definitions and weather in the latest interview tips we could read (2024), topics the FAA instrument banks cover. Prepare the behavioral questions with the US airline interview set and the CRM interview set, and keep your instrument flying sharp in case you are called to the simulator. Do the paperwork first: complete the interview packets, with a Pilot Employment Packet for each flying job of the previous five years; sign every logbook page, and if you keep an electronic logbook, have the endorsement for each rating ready; bring the originals; and keep your IFR currency, your FCC license and your First Class medical valid.

For the interview day, read the complete airline pilot interview guide and the Library’s competency-based pilot interviews and airline simulator assessment. If you are counting on the lower minimums, the restricted ATP explained sets out who qualifies at 750, 1,000 or 1,250 hours, and our FAA ATP written test guide covers the ATP-CTP and the test that follows it. The Library’s E-Jet family and flight deck is a place to start on the E175, FAA Part 121 air carrier operations explains the rules a regional First Officer flies under, and airline pilot ranks, seniority and scheduling how the seniority list that Envoy’s flow follows works. To see where the flow leads, read American Airlines pilot requirements; to compare another regional with the same ATP minimums, SkyWest Airlines pilot requirements. Check Envoy’s entry on the jobs board for the latest status.

What we could not confirm

• Read on 20 October 2026 from Envoy’s own pilot portfolio (June 2026, opened directly) and the Internet Archive’s copies of Envoy’s pilot pages (the latest of June 2026); Envoy’s live careers pages refused the download, so its current vacancy list was not read. Confirm the vacancy is still open before you apply.
• Whether the 50% Pilot Supply premium and Captain pay at 750 hours are extended beyond 31 December 2026
• Whether the hourly rates in Envoy’s pay scale include the 50% premium or have it added on top: the portfolio does not say
• The minimums, pay and current status of Envoy’s Direct Entry Captain route: Envoy publishes a page for it, but we could not open it
• The start date of the Washington National (DCA) crew base
• The current wait from flow eligibility to a class at American: Envoy’s portfolio shows about five years from hire and says times may vary

These points are not published clearly by the airline. Treat them as leads, not facts, and confirm them on the careers page: careers page.

Common questions

Is Envoy hiring pilots? Yes, at the last check, on 20 October 2026: Envoy’s pilot pages invited First Officer applications and offered new First Officers a 50% Pilot Supply premium and Captain’s pay at 750 Part 121 hours through 31 December 2026. We read them in their latest archived copies, of June 2026, because Envoy’s live careers pages refused our download, so confirm the vacancy on Envoy’s careers site before you apply.

How many hours do you need to fly for Envoy? Envoy’s First Officer minimums give 1,500 hours, or 1,250 with a qualifying two- or four-year aviation university program and 30 aviation credit hours, 1,000 with 60 aviation credit hours, or 750 for military flight training graduates, with the ATP written passed and an age of at least 21. The rule behind the lower totals, 14 CFR 61.160, gives the 1,000 hours to a bachelor’s degree with an aviation major, so check your degree against it.

Does Envoy pay for the type rating and the ATP-CTP? The type rating is not required: the E170 and E175 are taught in Envoy’s nine-to-ten-week new-hire training, with salary, per diem and a single-occupancy hotel. The ATP-CTP course is provided only to Envoy Cadets, whose course Envoy pays at their minimums; other applicants need the ATP written passed before they apply.

How does the Envoy flow to American work? Envoy pilots move to American Airlines by seniority, with no additional interview. Each year the flow takes the lesser of 25% of American’s new-hire training places that year, or five places a month, a number raised by one for every 125 pilots above 480 on the seniority list. Envoy’s June 2026 portfolio sketches about five years from hire to American, through an upgrade to Captain, and says times may vary.

Does Envoy hire direct entry Captains? Envoy publishes a Direct Entry Captain page, but we could not open it on 20 October 2026 and found no minimums for the route, so ask Envoy’s pilot recruitment. Experienced Part 121 pilots who join as First Officers have their years of service credited toward pay, vacation and retirement, and are paid the Captain rate from 750 hours of eligible flight time.