Lowlevel
Heehee.. Member
Hey everyone, found a copy of this in the Comair crew lounge and made a copy. Thought I'd share it here. I am not sure who wrote it (pilot or F/A?)and I am not sure if Richard Anderson read it, but ......
Mr. Anderson,
I am an employee of Comair Airlines. I am writing you today in an effort to fully understand the thought process that goes into Delta’s choice of regional carriers. I have heard so many rumors and inaccurate statements in the past few months, that I decided to go right to the CEO of Delta for accurate information. I trust that you will be honest and forthcoming with me. Everything that I write to you is truthful and accurate, except that I have withheld my true name for fear of losing my position with Comair or causing tension in the company. I hope that you respect this choice.
A quick history of my employment with Comair: I have been employed as a crewmember for two years. When I first decided to pursue a career at an airline, I had to decide whether it was worth taking a huge pay cut (from my previous career to the airlines) to pursue a career that I had aspired to since I was a child. After deciding to take this cut, the next question was which airlines to focus on. Much thought was put into this, as I wanted to work for a stable company that rewards their employees for hard work. I researched the regional airlines, and finally decided that Comair was the airline I would apply to. They are wholly owned by Delta, have always shown a profit for Delta, and they have been in business for thirty years which to me showed that they were going to be around for years to come.
In the past two years, I have seen things happen within the company and between Delta and Comair that truly confuse me. At the time I was hired, there was a feeling within the company of security and optimism for the future. There was a huge push to hire flight attendants and pilots to fill positions in the newest regional jet on the market at the time, the CRJ 900, as well as filling positions at John F. Kennedy International. Comair was growing and everyone felt that the company was secure with its position as Delta Airlines’ only wholly owned subsidiary. There was even talk of an additional base at Boston’s Logan International. Freedom Airlines’ on-time performance at JFK was atrocious and it was just a matter of time before Delta terminated their contract with Mesa, and as one would believe, pass this flying on to their wholly owned Comair. Since then, I have seen Freedom expand their presence at JFK, ASA taking over many of the previous Comair routes, Skywest operating flights out of CVG (Comair’s headquarters!), and Republic opening a base in CVG. Huge reductions in Comair’s block times have caused the company to furlough pilots and flight attendants and layoff other front line employees, at the same time that Delta gives Freedom more flights from JFK. This week we were notified of further furloughs for flight crews to take affect in January, as well as the loss of a 14th CRJ 900 that was reassigned to Mesaba. Wonderful news to start the holiday season. With all the sadness and anger within the company, it would seem that employees would not care about performance, but yet we set records for 100% completion this past month! Comair has shown consistently that they are Delta’s best choice when choosing a regional carrier, yet Delta continues to cut block hours for us.
During the past few months, with fuel prices fluctuating, I have read many articles that state that the 50 seat regional jet is a thing of the past, a money loser when fuel prices are high. I have read that Comair is going to be in a bad position, given that most of their aircraft are 50 seat CRJ 100/200’s. I have read how many customers like the EMB-170 aircraft that Republic is flying for Delta. As I read these articles, I begin to wonder why Comair has so many 50 seat aircraft. Comair was the original regional jet carrier, on the leading edge of regional airline travel. They had the latest, most advance regional aircraft on the market. What happened along the way that caused Comair to fall behind when it comes to having the newest most efficient aircraft? Why would Delta allow it’s wholly owned company to fall behind other regional carriers when it comes to having the latest equipment? Why would Delta/Comair not move away from the 50 seat aircraft and concentrate on the EMB-170/175 or CRJ 900? If the company is wholly owned by Delta, Comair’s profit or loss is essentially Delta’s profit or loss, so why would Delta give block hours to other regional carriers instead of its wholly owned, reliable regional carrier? I hear all the time that the decision to use a regional carrier all comes down to price. If Comair has a higher price, isn’t that still income going back to Delta, the parent company? Many passengers pick their airline by their own previous experience with that airline or by word of mouth from other passengers. Delta may get a cheaper price from other regional carriers, but is that small difference worth the loss of passenger loyalty after they receive less than excellent service on a sub par regional carrier? Comair has been there for Delta through many trying times, it is a company that puts pride in its product and the employees put pride in their service. When a passenger thinks back to a flight they have taken, they think “Delta” not Comair, Freedom, ASA, or Republic.
I would like to take a moment to thank you for personally reading my email. As you can see, I have many questions and concerns. I hear these same concerns from other employees at Comair, and I hope that you will give me some firm information that I can share with someone if they ask these questions. I wish you and your family a joyous holiday season and a wonderful new year in 2009.
Name withheld
Comair Crewmember
Mr. Anderson,
I am an employee of Comair Airlines. I am writing you today in an effort to fully understand the thought process that goes into Delta’s choice of regional carriers. I have heard so many rumors and inaccurate statements in the past few months, that I decided to go right to the CEO of Delta for accurate information. I trust that you will be honest and forthcoming with me. Everything that I write to you is truthful and accurate, except that I have withheld my true name for fear of losing my position with Comair or causing tension in the company. I hope that you respect this choice.
A quick history of my employment with Comair: I have been employed as a crewmember for two years. When I first decided to pursue a career at an airline, I had to decide whether it was worth taking a huge pay cut (from my previous career to the airlines) to pursue a career that I had aspired to since I was a child. After deciding to take this cut, the next question was which airlines to focus on. Much thought was put into this, as I wanted to work for a stable company that rewards their employees for hard work. I researched the regional airlines, and finally decided that Comair was the airline I would apply to. They are wholly owned by Delta, have always shown a profit for Delta, and they have been in business for thirty years which to me showed that they were going to be around for years to come.
In the past two years, I have seen things happen within the company and between Delta and Comair that truly confuse me. At the time I was hired, there was a feeling within the company of security and optimism for the future. There was a huge push to hire flight attendants and pilots to fill positions in the newest regional jet on the market at the time, the CRJ 900, as well as filling positions at John F. Kennedy International. Comair was growing and everyone felt that the company was secure with its position as Delta Airlines’ only wholly owned subsidiary. There was even talk of an additional base at Boston’s Logan International. Freedom Airlines’ on-time performance at JFK was atrocious and it was just a matter of time before Delta terminated their contract with Mesa, and as one would believe, pass this flying on to their wholly owned Comair. Since then, I have seen Freedom expand their presence at JFK, ASA taking over many of the previous Comair routes, Skywest operating flights out of CVG (Comair’s headquarters!), and Republic opening a base in CVG. Huge reductions in Comair’s block times have caused the company to furlough pilots and flight attendants and layoff other front line employees, at the same time that Delta gives Freedom more flights from JFK. This week we were notified of further furloughs for flight crews to take affect in January, as well as the loss of a 14th CRJ 900 that was reassigned to Mesaba. Wonderful news to start the holiday season. With all the sadness and anger within the company, it would seem that employees would not care about performance, but yet we set records for 100% completion this past month! Comair has shown consistently that they are Delta’s best choice when choosing a regional carrier, yet Delta continues to cut block hours for us.
During the past few months, with fuel prices fluctuating, I have read many articles that state that the 50 seat regional jet is a thing of the past, a money loser when fuel prices are high. I have read that Comair is going to be in a bad position, given that most of their aircraft are 50 seat CRJ 100/200’s. I have read how many customers like the EMB-170 aircraft that Republic is flying for Delta. As I read these articles, I begin to wonder why Comair has so many 50 seat aircraft. Comair was the original regional jet carrier, on the leading edge of regional airline travel. They had the latest, most advance regional aircraft on the market. What happened along the way that caused Comair to fall behind when it comes to having the newest most efficient aircraft? Why would Delta allow it’s wholly owned company to fall behind other regional carriers when it comes to having the latest equipment? Why would Delta/Comair not move away from the 50 seat aircraft and concentrate on the EMB-170/175 or CRJ 900? If the company is wholly owned by Delta, Comair’s profit or loss is essentially Delta’s profit or loss, so why would Delta give block hours to other regional carriers instead of its wholly owned, reliable regional carrier? I hear all the time that the decision to use a regional carrier all comes down to price. If Comair has a higher price, isn’t that still income going back to Delta, the parent company? Many passengers pick their airline by their own previous experience with that airline or by word of mouth from other passengers. Delta may get a cheaper price from other regional carriers, but is that small difference worth the loss of passenger loyalty after they receive less than excellent service on a sub par regional carrier? Comair has been there for Delta through many trying times, it is a company that puts pride in its product and the employees put pride in their service. When a passenger thinks back to a flight they have taken, they think “Delta” not Comair, Freedom, ASA, or Republic.
I would like to take a moment to thank you for personally reading my email. As you can see, I have many questions and concerns. I hear these same concerns from other employees at Comair, and I hope that you will give me some firm information that I can share with someone if they ask these questions. I wish you and your family a joyous holiday season and a wonderful new year in 2009.
Name withheld
Comair Crewmember