Continental was in pretty dire straits financially post 9/11 when it spun off COEX. The rationale was that COEX would do well on its own as a public company (with access to public capital if needed) and it could focus on its own operations better vs. competing with other CO divisions for resources. My understanding is that COEX is still doing reasonably well while CO enjoys the same operational benefits as before the spin off.
I keep hearing from all of the Comair and ASA folks on this forum that they are doing quite well (people say they are "profitable") - so, perhaps they should join COEX and operate separately. But, as potential Delta partners in the future (if they won the bidding wars for the feeder contracts), they would still benefit from Delta's marketing and brand equity.
In the end, Delta would benefit from the cash infusion from taking Comair/ASA public and from operating continuity (not much would change operationally - like CO/COEX situation) while Comair/ASA could potentially expand their fleets with other potential airline partners.
I keep hearing from all of the Comair and ASA folks on this forum that they are doing quite well (people say they are "profitable") - so, perhaps they should join COEX and operate separately. But, as potential Delta partners in the future (if they won the bidding wars for the feeder contracts), they would still benefit from Delta's marketing and brand equity.
In the end, Delta would benefit from the cash infusion from taking Comair/ASA public and from operating continuity (not much would change operationally - like CO/COEX situation) while Comair/ASA could potentially expand their fleets with other potential airline partners.
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