I love it. I post something I find relavent to what is going on, and people cry and say how insensitive. Then I erase it, and I am called a coward. Come on now, which way do you want it?
Wait, here is an article that just came out about the situation:
Spurned by suitors, Comair now faces the axe
By Christopher Hinton
Sep 1, 2010 14:38:00 (ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Delta Air Lines said Wednesday it would reduce the size of Comair, its last wholly owned subsidiary, by 50% over the next two years in hopes of attracting a buyer for the costly regional carrier.
This summer, Delta sold its Mesaba and Compass airlines to help streamline its portfolio, reflecting a wider shakeup in the regional marketplace as the large network carriers try to right themselves after two years of losses.
But no buyer stepped forward for Comair, which has service-hour costs that are 20% higher than most of its peers.
"To secure our future, we need to demonstrate our ability to operate as a standalone entity," Comair President John Bendoraitis wrote in a memo to employees. "We must be able to earn a profit while reducing our operating costs to what the market is willing to pay for our services."
By 2012, Comair plans to reduce its fleet of 87 aircraft to 44, mostly through the expiration of leasing contracts for its 50-seat Bombardier CRJ100/200 planes, while retaining its larger and younger fleet of CRJ700 and CRJ900 jets.
That alone should save the subsidiary some $110 million over the next four years, according to the memo, primarily from lower maintenance expenses as Comair leases the aircraft through Delta.
Roughly half of Comair's 2,500 workers can also be expected to leave, through furloughs or voluntary severance packages. The carrier said it also will work with its unions to secure more competitive agreements.
Delta expects to maintain all its regional routes currently served by Comair, but with fewer flights.
Network carriers such as Delta are moving away from regional flying, which is typically more expensive than long-haul trips, in order to focus on more profitable markets and routes.
That's opened up opportunities for some independent regional airlines that want to better align operations with their biggest legacy-carrier customers while also diversifying their exposure.
In July, Delta agreed to sell its Mesaba airline for $62 million to Pinnacle Airlines Corp. ([script removed] By flying a larger fleet of similar aircraft, the regional carriers hope to reduce the maintenance and labor costs that network airlines struggled with."Like the major airlines, we likely need less regionals," said Ray Neidl, an independent airline analyst in New York. "It's gong to boil down to SkyWest and Republic."
Last year, Republic Airways Holdings completed its acquisition of Frontier Airlines Holdings, which had emerged from bankruptcy protection along with its subsidiaries Frontier Airlines and Lynx Aviation.
And Wayback, I decided to pay them anyway. They said you weren't helping out since your STD treatments were really expensive.
Bye Bye--General Lee