Sounds a little "grim" for Comair

The writing is on the wall. Why don't they leave instead of riding it into the ground at this point.
 
Maurus said:
The writing is on the wall. Why don't they leave instead of riding it into the ground at this point.
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I'd probably ride it into the ground. 1) Get paid more than you would at year 1 pay at another crappy regional 2) unemployment benefits while you find new work 3) hoping that the real airlines start hiring before the second shoe falls.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
I'd probably ride it into the ground. 1) Get paid more than you would at year 1 pay at another crappy regional 2) unemployment benefits while you find new work 3) hoping that the real airlines start hiring before the second shoe falls.
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This is true. I just figure that a mass exodus would cause a hole in the delta system and kind of give the pilots a last laugh. Them sticking around just allows Delta to get away with what they did to Comair.
 
jtrain609 said:
Who told you that?
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Well, I was trying to make a point, but it turns out that Skywest has said this.


Originally Posted by Aviation Week and Space Technology
SkyWest Concerned About 50-Seater Fleet Under Delta’s New Feeder Plan
Aviation Daily Jul16, 2012 , p. 1.01
Andrew Compart



Delta Air Lines ’ plan to encourage its regional airline partners to end their 50-seat regional jet flying before feeder contracts expire could run into resistance at SkyWest , the largest regional operator in the U.S., unless the affected aircraft can continue to generate revenue.

Delta plans to offer its regional airline partners contracts for new or additional 76-seat flying as an incentive to break current capacity supply agreements and reduce 50-seat regional jet operations, Delta’s pilots union says. Enabling that plan was a major motivator for the new labor contract that Delta and the AirLinePilotsAssociation ( ALPA ) finalized in June.

SkyWest CFO Michael Kraupp, however, tells Aviation Week that such an offer would not be acceptable unless an alternative is provided for the 50-seat jets.

“We have no interest in parking aircraft,” Kraupp says. “I don’t think you can make enough on dual-class aircraft coming in to justify the costs in parking the aircraft.”

Various DeltaConnection carriers currently operate about 345 50-seat regional jets for Delta, but the airline wants to reduce the number to 125 as soon as the end of 2015 because high fuel costs have made the aircraft increasingly uneconomical and many of the engines are coming due for expensive overhauls.

Delta is contractually obligated to operate 311 of its 50-seat aircraft through the end of 2015 and 155 through 2019, according to ALPA .

SkyWest subsidiaries SkyWest Airlines and ExpressJet operate about 90 and 60 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft , respectively, for Delta, under 15-year contracts that Kraupp says do not expire until 2020. Kraupp is emphatic that Delta does not have any rights in the current contract to tell SkyWest to cease the 50-seater operations before the agreements expire.

Apart from SkyWest ’s two divisions, Delta also contracts 50-seat jet feed from Pinnacle Airlines, which is operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with Delta financing, and from Republic Airways subsidiary Chautauqua Airlines. Delta’s own subsidiary, Comair, also operates 50-seat jets .

Pinnacle, however, is the most venerable of these feeders , with 141 CRJ200s assigned to the Delta contract .
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Reports indicate that Comair, a Delta Air Lines wholly-owned regional airline, may be closing their doors on October 1, 2012.

The news comes as Delta has cut the airlines fleet and schedules in half over the course of the last two years. Recent announcements from Delta, such as the leasing of AirTran Airways' Boeing 717's, show further cuts are coming to regional jet flying.

Cincinnati, Ohio ABC affiliate station WCPO, contacted Delta Air Lines for comment:

"In view of significant changes in the economic and competitive conditions in the regional airline industry in recent years, Delta continues to explore strategic alternatives for Comair, as previously announced. Until a final decision has been made, we cannot comment further," Kristin Baur, Delta Corporate Communications, told the news station.

The Delta statement mirrors an internal memo sent to all employees by Comair's president, Ryan Gumm which also used the words "final decision" and said that decision should be coming from Delta by the end of July. That decision, could only be a further reduction in flying or possible closure.

Sources also told WCPO that supplies and crew member training schedules are only available until October 1, 2012.

In the past Delta has sold wholly-owned Atlantic Southeast Airlines to Sky West Airlines, so a possibility still remains that the airline can be sold if a buyer can be found.


Sent from my TRS-80
 
Maurus said:
The writing is on the wall. Why don't they leave instead of riding it into the ground at this point.
Click to expand...

Many are leaving still. But others can just ride it out and get furloughed eventually. A furlough gets some packages including 5 years of DL flight benefits. A couple of my friends were able to time a voluntary furlough and walk right into a new job at JetBlue. I just quit over a year ago now. I just ran into my old check airman that did my IOE at Comair when I was a new hire. Great guy and I feel bad because he's been there a good 20 years. I hope they are given decent severance packages.
 
I hope everyone can move on to bigger and better things better the hammer falls. Hate to see bad things happen to a great group.
 
Okay!! Now that I found this thread Comair treated me extremely well when I worked for them. The whole Delta thing... well what can I say? JC lawson fracked it up for everyone. Great company, looked out for me, even when my now ex tried to get me fired from there. Well, aviation moves on.
I also met and made many a life long friendI hate to see this. Thanks JC Lawson, I would say more but modesty forbids.
 
Yeah, Derg BFF, JC Law really put a hurt on everyone hired after that whole crap sandwich. When I went to Comair they had the best(or maybe the second best pay/rules) in the regional industry. Never thought of that place as a permanent job but as a stepping stone. Good luck to all.
 
Not the news I was really expecting to hear! I have heard other things from people in the know, but this wouldn't surprise me!
 
To all of my Comair friends, I just spoke with a nameless source that had confirmed what we had all thought and suspected. I wanted to give all of you as much of a heads-up as possible. Comair will be making the announcement on July 31st. Their last day of operations will be September 30th.

The U.S. Marshals were briefed to disarm the Comair FFDO's to reduce the risk of one of them from potentially going postal.

I am sorry to be the bearer of bad news but I felt that if I were still at Comair, I would want to know this information as soon as possible in order to plan accordingly.

I wish the best of luck to all of you.
 
I thought the FFDO program was under the TSA. Why would the U.S. Marshals do it? Unless, it was meant to be air marshals, which are now under TSA also.

Though disarming does make sense from the point of view to prevent "outbursts" and the fact they wouldn't be airline pilots after Comair shuts down, which I think is one of the requirements for FFDO.
 
Speaking of TSA saw a pilot in uniform being groped this morning. WTF! When will their insanity end?
 
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