Back in the 70s a couple of guys got together and purchased some Piper Navajo and flew out of Cincinnati. With their growth they purchased more and more aircrafts and became a public company in the early 80s. It wasn't until 1984 that they became a Delta Connection carrier and by 1999 Delta fully owned Comair and from then on Delta has owned Comair until it's resent closure. The story as to why they were shut down is because it wasn't financially smart to keep them running. The smaller regional airplanes cost more since they are not as fuel efficient, not to mention that as these planes age the cost to maintain them and keep them airworthy was almost not worthy (haha!). Another reason why Comair got the short stick in it all is that they weren't all that busy. From Detroit about 6% of the departing flights were from Comair and only 1% in Atlanta. The loss of jobs is devastating especially for the Cincinnati Kentucky area since they employed approximately 1,700 people.
The future for Regional Airlines is rather dark. Even though they account for almost half of the Nations schedules flights the costs are outweighing the profit forcing airlines to shut their regional down and closing the small routes. Because of all of the extreme prices the airlines are having to prioritize where their money goes. The major airports have more of a demand for the not only the airlines money but their attention as well causing the Regional Carriers to go on the back burner.
Coming from a Pilot who might have to take a job at the Regionals in order to build hours and reach higher jobs I hope that the major airlines will find a more suitable purpose in order to keep them alive. Comair may no longer operate however most Regional Carriers are merging together such as Pinnacle and Mesaba or SkyWest and ExpressJet. Hopefully this will aid in keeping the Regional Carriers alive and moving.
From this point I decided to look into First Officer jobs at the Regional level. I finally found a site that didn't require my money in order to look at the job posts and found out that CommutAir is hiring. The starting pay is low but somewhat normal for the first year at a Regional Carrier as a First Officer. Starting at $23-$25 an hour which may require me to live with my parents for a bit but I'm sure they won't mind and would enjoy my company. Plus who doesn't enjoy mama's cooking?
Assignment due Sunday, December 9th
11 years ago
We also need to keep in mind that the flights and airplanes that Comair flew are not just gone, there fleet and schedule has been divided up amongst the other regional airlines that serve as delta connections, so its not like jobs really went away they have just been relocated.
ReplyDeleteFunny ending...yes, having some financial support, be it from parents or a significant other, during the regional years is very helpful. Where are the causes of the "extreme prices"?
ReplyDeleteI hope they keep the regionals going! That is probably where a good majority of us will end up flying!
ReplyDeleteMy concern about all these mergers is how they will treat their employees once they corner part of the market. Similar concerns with the major airlines. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.
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