The future of Comair? Shut down???

[IronCityBlue]

Delta has wasted millions on airplanes they don't need and never really wanted in the first place.

While this is true, I blame that on horrible, disgusting, unskilled and untalented management at the time. If Delta truly needed 70 or 90 seaters and not 50 seaters, they could have always flown as many as they wanted. They still can.

 

[On Your Six]

The fact remains that 50-seat jets won't work with high oil prices on competitive routes. That's a fact and we all need to accept it... 70+ seaters are the future for RJs. Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall...

 

[IronCityBlue]

The fact remains that 50-seat jets won't work with high oil prices on competitive routes. That's a fact and we all need to accept it... 70+ seaters are the future for RJs. Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall...

All the more reason for mainline pilots to fly them then.

 

[Beetle007]

I'm not entirely sure that Comair would be dead though. Comair is still the leanest DCI carrier.

Comairs cost per seat mile is 18.1
ASAs cost per seat mils is 14.1
Sky West's cost per seat mile is 12.0
Pinnacle's cost per seat mile is 8.6

Why is comairs costs so high? How are they more than double the cost of Pinnacle? They are the highest cost regional according to the most recent statistics http://www.dot.gov/affairs/bts5807.htm

 

[MINIME]

Even if CVG goes out the window as a hub for DAL, I don't see Comair closing doors. Remember what happened in STL when AA bought TWA? After 911 they pulled 80% of mainline traffic out of STL, making it the ghost town that it still is. The biggest carrier out of STL was Trans States. And I believe it still is.

Yes, 50 seat RJs aren't economical but DAL will want to maintain a presence there. I doubt they want to just give up Comair and not get anything in return. In some cases the other Regional partners may not be in a position to fill the gap either. Heck, I wouldn't doubt DAL giving or returning Comair its 70 seaters to be able to better compete. The overall flying might be reduced but I doubt they will close the doors.

 

[JoeMerchant]

Comairs cost per seat mile is 18.1
ASAs cost per seat mils is 14.1
Sky West's cost per seat mile is 12.0
Pinnacle's cost per seat mile is 8.6

Why is comairs costs so high? How are they more than double the cost of Pinnacle? They are the highest cost regional according to the most recent statistics http://www.dot.gov/affairs/bts5807.htm

.....Longevity....This why regionals fight pay increases.....Longevity is more of a factor than the actual payrates themselves.....

This is why the Compass/MidAtlantics are popular.... They start the longevity clock back at year one....

Comair is a far more senior group than Pinnacle.....

 

[1013dot25hPa]

I agree with JoeMerchant.

CMR is not expensive because of a lack of efficiency, etc. Our cost per seat mile is high due to the fact that nearly 1/3rd of our captains have been here 20+ years and are getting max pay.

We are more "top heavy" then any other regional carrier out there today.

 

[KingAirKiddo]

Yeah, and it's kind of hard to get the "juniority" effect when we keep losing airplanes. Stagnation/shrinking with a senior labor group is not real conducive to sustained profitability.

174 jets pre-bankruptcy down to 115-ish today and every other DCI carrier growing or at least stable. F'cking disgusting.

 

[John Pennekamp]

The fact remains that 50-seat jets won't work with high oil prices on competitive routes. That's a fact and we all need to accept it... 70+ seaters are the future for RJs. Unfortunately, the writing is on the wall...

What's better: 50 people on a CRJ or 50 people on a Mad dog/737/DC-9?

There are still a lot of routes flown by DCI that can't support mainline equipment with acceptable frequency. Shall we drop to 1 or 2 flights a day? Not good for connecting with mainline.

Unless Delta wants to abandon these markets and lose the feed to Airtran, they were going to have to maintain the lift and frequency. 50 seaters aren't going anywhere, they will just be returning to a commuter role on long thin routes... as they were built to do.

 

[FDJ2]

50 seaters aren't going anywhere, they will just be returning to a commuter role on long thin routes... as they were built to do.

You just go on and keep telling yourself that.