Comair President "Moves On"

[JetPilot_Mike]

Looks like we found out who will pay for the Christmas meltdown. Notice how Randy isn't leaving in two weeks, and how the memo is from Kolshak, not Butrell, who is Randy's boss.

To:​

​

All Comair Employees​

From:Joseph C. Kolshak, Senior Vice President and Chief of Operations​

Subject:New Leadership​

​

Randy Rademacher has informed me of his decision to step down as President of Comair, effective immediately, to pursue other opportunities. Randy was instrumental in shaping the growth and direction of one of the nation’s leading regional air carriers. His significant contributions and strong leadership over many years is appreciated. We wish him well.​

Effective today, Fred Buttrell will assume the duties of President of Comair. Fred brings extensive executive experience in airline planning, operations, finance and leadership to this position. Before taking the helm of Delta’s connection carrier network as Chief Executive Officer of DCI, Inc., he served as Senior Vice President—Strategy and Business Development; Vice President of Operational Planning, Control and Reliability; as well as Vice President—Atlanta Airport Customer Service for Delta Air Lines.​

A former U.S. Air Force aviator, Fred holds an Airline Transport pilot’s license and is type-rated on the Boeing 737-800 and CRJ-200. He brings passion and professionalism to an airline that shares both qualities throughout its ranks, and I know he will lead the Comair team to new levels of excellence, with your support.​

Thank you for all your efforts to keep Comair and Delta flying strong.​

Joseph C. Kolshak​

cc: Delta Officers and Directors​

 

[Slim]

THIS should be interesting!

Buttrell is now in a compromised position. He's a proven believer in the portfolio concept. Now, as president of one of the porfolio carriers, where do his prioroities go...to the development of the portfolio or the best interests of Comair? I believe we already know the answer.

Rademacher paid the price. I remember this quote (paraphrased) from Len Morgan's Vectors column in Flying Magazine, "Pilots are fired while management leaves to pursue different career opportunites! Same difference!"

Fly safe!

 

[P38JLightning]

semantics?

So is FB still going to be the CEO of DCI at the same time as being Comair's President (and/or CEO)?

Not that it matters, because we all know FB has been "in charge" of Comair for some time now, and RR merely his puppet for years.

Looks like they are just eliminating the middle man. One of the many things our union told them to do when they asked us for pay cuts (to pay for growth and pay for our own upgrades).

We all know the whores will continue to get the lions share of the growth (especially the E-170) but it will be interesting if, in the unlikely event, that FB gets put on the spot about why he isn't giving HIS company more growth. Nevermind, he'll just blame it on pilot labor and get away with it.

 

[surplus1]

Maybe Comair employees will now rush to shower this "US Air Force aviator" from Delta with all the adulation an loyalty that must certainly be due to whomever comes from above to show us how to run the airline.

Slowly but surely the Borgs are completing the assimilation into their world.

 

[FDJ2]

So is FB still going to be the CEO of DCI at the same time as being Comair's President (and/or CEO)?

Joe Kolshak, 47, has been named Senior Vice President and Chief of Operations for Delta Air Lines. In this position, effective June 1, 2004, he will be responsible for Flight Operations, Technical Operations, Operations Control Center, Safety, Security, and Delta Connection Inc.

 

[FDJ2]

Maybe Comair employees will now rush to shower this "US Air Force aviator" from Delta with all the adulation an loyalty that must certainly be due to whomever comes from above to show us how to run the airline.

Or at the very least not have a 100% meltdown over Christmas.

 

[jarhead]

Slowly but surely the Borgs are completing the assimilation into their world.

Just a technicality here Surplus, but the Borg is not plural. It (The Borg) is a collective, and one entity unto itself.

Do you believe, in keeping with the metaphor, that "resistance is futile"?

 

[ifly4food]

Now all they have to do is send Skip Barnett off to early retirement with his $875K Leo Mullin Guaranteed Pension and put Butt head in charge of the merged company.

Step 1 (really the hardest step) is complete.

ASA+Comair= billions of dollars in savings

 

[Anaconda]

Monday, January 17, 2005

Comair president quits

By James Pilcher
Enquirer staff writer

ERLANGER - Comair's top executive resigned today, nearly a month after a computer failure and severe winter storm forced the airline to shut down operations on Christmas weekend.

Company president Randy Rademacher, who had run the regional airline for five topsy-turvy years, left the company effective immediately "to pursue other opportunities," according to a company memo issued to the carrier's 6,000 workers today.

But one industry expert said Rademacher was clearly taking the fall for the holiday disruptions, which included a full shutdown of the airline on Christmas Day that stranded thousands of passengers and their luggage for several days after.

"I've always thought Randy was a very good executive ... but when something catastrophic like this happens, there has to be some accountability," said Doug Abbey, partner with The Velocity Group, a Washington, D.C.-based airline consulting firm. "I'm sure more was done internally, but there has to be a public face to it."

Rademacher, 48, declined comment through an associate today.

Taking Rademacher's place will be Fred Buttrell, who had previously run the overall regional network for Delta. Buttrell, 42, has served in several other executive roles in Delta and today in an interview said the move was permanent.

Buttrell said he would move to the area from Atlanta and give up his duties with Delta Connection Inc., which now will be handled by other Delta executives.

A former accountant who was hired at Comair as a director of finance in 1985, Rademacher took over the airline as president at the same time it was purchased by Delta Air Lines for $2.3 billion in January 2000. Delta and Comair jointly operate what is Delta's second-largest hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Comair operates the most flights locally and employs more than 4,000 here.

He then oversaw the airline through the process of Delta's oversight, and then was in charge when the airline's pilots shut down Comair for 89 days through the strike of spring 2001. Rademacher also oversaw the airline's restart after the 9/11 terror attacks.

When asked if Rademacher was pushed out or forced to resign, Buttrell said that Rademacher "made his own decision."

Buttrell added that even though he had been critical of Comair's relatively high labor costs, especially its pilot contract, and that he had been the one to say Comair would not get any new jets this year because of those costs, that he was "ready to work on all these issues together."

"We need to find that solution set to create a winning growth strategy at Comair," said Buttrell, a former Air Force pilot who is qualified to fly the same regional jets that Comair uses.

As for his relationship with Comair's pilots union, which has already rebuffed efforts to renegotiate its contract reached after the 2001 strike, Buttrell said that the company "will need their help."

David Siebenburgen, who initially hired Rademacher and then installed him as Comair president in 2000, said that Rademacher had guided the airline through some tumultuous times and that Comair had still been able to grow.

"He should be given some high marks for that," said Siebenburgen, the former Comair president and CEO who also ran the Delta Connection network until November 2001. "And I think Fred is a great selection to get Comair slotted in with Delta's new direction as well."

 

[bvt1151]

Sounds like Randy finally said "no" to Fred. You could tell in the meeting that Randy didn't have much respect for the Fred.

For that matter, who does?