Comair, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Airlines, is going to cease operations on September 29th of this year.  This comes as no surprise to anyone.

Comair has been for sale for some time and even when Delta was able to shed other subsidiary regional airlines, there were no takers for Comair.   Delta says the need for 50 seat jets is going to diminish and therefore doesn’t need this airline.  While that is certain to be a part of it, there is more to the story.

Comair has some of the highest costs going in the regional airline industry and a labor force that is not just unionized but militant.  Strikes have hit Comair crippling Delta services and Comair has also had some of the worst on-time stats in the Delta family of regional airlines.  It’s been kept on life support to meet needs due to scope clauses and the like but with Delta’s new agreement with the pilots . . . it’s just not needed anymore.

Comair was/is headquartered in Cincinnatti, a Delta hub that has seen significant reductions in schedule as well.  While it remains more a hub than a focus city, it’s glory days as a hub are over.  Delta can better serve its network with other hubs.

It’s unfortunate for the employees of Comair as many are very senior there and will be re-starting careers elsewhere far lower on the rungs of the seniority ladder.  They have my empathy given our economic times in the airline industry.

As for Delta’s flying . . . this isn’t a capacity reduction.  No doubt Delta will be adjusting its schedules, changing aircraft on routes and re-shuffling duties to its other regional airline affiliates.

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