Paul..it would seem from the overwhelming response to your posting,that nobody is very interested in the imminent transfer of Atlanta 757s to Excel.Certainly AAE management is not interested enough to inform their underlings of what is going on(no change there!) and AAI 'management' is so far away in Reykjavik no one can hear their monosyllabic mutterings anyway.
It would seem from the ensuing rumours that the Icelandic CAA have fallen out with the British CAA(obviously,they mentioned the cod war..and didn't get away with it!)The ICAA have taken umbrage and decreed that 757/767 crews can no longer fly both AOCs and they must be fleeted according to registration.This puts AAE/AAI and Excel crewing into even more of a mess than they were already.Diplomatic speak(and there ain't much of that around here) would say that the British CAA was probably arrogant and the resulting ICAA's response 'unhelpful'.
Excel's roster handling is not the best.They go to their management with tales of how wonderful they are and how those awful Atlanta crews fail to cooperate,whilst Atlanta crews get pushed from pillar to post by umpteen roster changes per month caused by a combination of poor roster planning and lack of crew.In the meantime,AAE/AAI's massive training requirement is not rostered in the most efficient way either,with wasted training opportunities resulting in even more crew shortages.There is a steady and constant drift of flight deck away from AAE to other operators by those looking for more stability and better pay,and F/Os looking for some sort of real command prospect.
Rumour has it that the rush to get the 757s onto the G reg is to remove its present poor engineering cover as quickly as possible,and place it under Excel's technical management(something about fat and fire spring to mind in this regard.There's a big difference between looking after 3 and 4 year old 737s and 20 year old 75s).The technical state of the four planes is lamentable with rumours of engine flame outs and surges and spurious stall warnings amongst many other recent problems.Two weekends ago,all four 757s were AOG simultaneously.The big question is,will it ever be possible to get them transferred to the G reg.?Many dubious maintenance organisations have run their greasy fingers over them since they came from Two Bob.One AAE chap said there was an engineering rumour that so many improper parts would have to be replaced and so many repairs redone to an acceptable design authority,it would be cheaper to buy new!
Paul,you ask what would happen to the different sort of crews.The original plan was that AAI contract and permanent crews would gently disappear as the G reg takes over.There was to have been a core of thirty AAE crews and any others would have been brought in seasonally or as required.Obviously only those with JAR licences would be able to remain.But the core of thirty crews has never been achieved,and if the training/rostering situation is allowed to continue,it never will.With the increased lack of flexibility due to crew now not being allowed to move from TF to G,and the introduction of yet another AOC..God help them! It would be nice to think there would be increased chances for Excel 737 crews to broaden their 'type' horizons too...but don't hold your breath.These are not the quiet planned changes of a steady handed management,but rather the fire fighting knee jerkings of too many cooks with a similar language content of that ilk as seen on TV.Any thought of TUPE etc.,might be the wishful thinking of our BALPA represented Excel crew room.The AAE pilots may well decide they don't want to join Excel(we are paid less and made to wear hats after all!).It might be expedient if they were not invited to transfer just yet,and remained AAE employees on their own terms and conditions.It is obvious that eventually they will all become part of Excel in order to reduce management overheads and 'ring out the synergies',as the business section of any paper would say.But all in good time methinks.
My own opinion,for what it's worth,would be for Excel crews not to get too excited,it may never happen and for Atlanta Europe crews to stay away from their phones,'cos it probably will.