The American Eagle MEC and Negotiating Committee this week launched a three-week series of road shows to all domiciles to explain the details of and answer questions about the Tentative Agreement reached with management. Pilot negotiators reached the bankruptcy deal in August, and final language was approved by the MEC last week.

The road show schedule kicked off in EGL’s LaGuardia domicile and will conclude in the San Juan domicile October 6.

Negotiating Committee chairman Capt. Doug Gibbs fielded many questions about the pay banding concept—designed to reduce training events—that is an essential component of the agreement.

“This agreement actually raises the bar in bankruptcy negotiations,” said EGL MEC chairman Capt. Tony Gutierrez. “Management at other airlines in bankruptcy negotiations, including Pinnacle, played the waiting game to see what would happen here.”

“They didn’t expect this,” Gutierrez continued, emphasizing that the Eagle TA “includes no wage reductions, no changes in health-care benefits, no alteration to the pilots’ 401(k) program, top-of-the-industry per diem, and much stronger scope language.”

AMR, American Eagle’s parent company, filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, and the pilots have been negotiating for a mutually beneficial deal since December.