Thu, Sep 02, 2010
Fleet Will Be Less Than Half Its Current Size In Two Years
Comair executives told its regional airline workers in
Cincinnati Wednesday that the carrier would likely be about half
its current size in two years. The company says it plans to shed
both planes and employees during that period.
Comair currently employs about 2,600 workers, about half in the
Cincinnati region. The airline reportedly has some 96 aircraft in
its fleet, and the airplanes it is looking to cut are the less
efficient, and profitable, 50 seat regional jets.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Delta bought Comair in 2000
for over $1 billion, and it is still one of the most profitable
regional airlines flying according to federal statistics. But that
government data does not include debt service. Comair relies far
more on contracts with Delta than it does ticket sales to make it
profitable. Delta, meanwhile, has been trying to sell the
subsidiary for about a year. It thought it would do so when it sold
Mesaba and Compass airlines in July, but that did not occur.
Concourse C At KCVG, Now Closed
Comair president John Bendoraitis said in a memo that "the
current cost structure ... does not enable us to be competitive in
the current industry environment." The airline had expected to
expand to 100 aircraft by the end of this year, but instead will
enter a downsizing mode. It plans to shed almost its entire fleet
of 50 seat regional jets leaving it with about 44 aircraft mostly
of the 70- and 76-seat configurations. Bendoraitis said in the memo
that the downsizing in aircraft would occur over 2011 and 2012,
determined by lease returns and maintenance schedules.
Comair CRJ-700
And fewer planes means fewer people. "With such a significant
change in fleet size, we must also re-align our staffing over the
next two years to support the new, smaller size of the airline,"
the memo said. Bendoraitis said the staff would be the correct size
to run a 44 aircraft airline by the end of 2012.
The move is also something of a blow to Cincinnati, Northern
Kentucky International Airport. It was at one time Delta's
second-largest hub, but the airline has cut two-thirds of its daily
flights from KCVG, which has caused a further erosion of the
workforce.
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