Over the past few weeks, we’ve looked at Delta’s previous subsidiaries, including Delta Express and Song Airlines. However, not Comair, the Delta Connection airline owned by Delta.
However, in September 2012, Delta closed the airline down, with the industry never being quite the same again! But why did Delta close them down? What legacy did it leave?
Pre-Formation
Delta, as with most major airlines of its day focused on the high density and high revenue routes. If you wanted to fly New York to London, there were hundreds of flights available to you.
However, with that, there were only a handful of airlines that flew on lower density routes. Several airline entrepreneurs saw the potential in this and established regional airlines, including the famous Mohawk Airlines.
What many of these entrepreneurs realized was that there was actually a reason why major carriers didn’t fly these routes: They weren’t profitable. Most of these airlines subsequently merged or went bankrupt.
However, starting in the late 1970’s, with airline de-regulation having happened in 1978, more people started flying. This allowed airlines to choose their own layouts and set their own prices.
This saw huge scores of business executives traveling by air. Whilst most of this was via major carriers of the time, on high density routes, much of it was on low density regional routes.
However, there weren’t enough airlines to accommodate for this increase in demand. Major airlines also wanted to get into the business seeing it as extremely profitable, but lacked the funds to do so.
Formation
Some of the people to notice this were Patrick J. Sowers, Robert T. Tranter, David Mueller and his father Raymond Mueller. They saw that the road would be bumpy, but, if done right, would make them incredibly rich!
After much discussion, they all chipped in a small amount in order to found the airline. All men were natives of Cincinnati, Ohio and lived there at the time, choosing Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport as their hub.
The group founded the airline in March 1977. Although the airline only commenced operations in April 1977, after it had received all of the necessary permits and so on.
In March 1977, the group had chosen the name Comair for their airline, with it being owned by Comair Holdings, a holdings company owned by the four of them.
Following the airline’s founding, the airline took possession of two Piper Navajos. Prior to the airline’s founding the founders had settled on two initial routes: Akron/Canton, Cleveland, and Evansville, Indiana.
1970’s
Despite being a relatively new and inexperienced airline, the first year had been extremely profitable. By the end of 1977, the founders were already considering expanding the airline, both in terms of fleet and destination size.
In March 1978, the founders held their first (and mandatory) shareholders meeting, discussing the growth of the company and the outlook on the future.
The following day, two founders, Sowers and Tranter, publicly resigned from the airline. They alleged that the Muellers had practiced “unacceptable and unsafe” practices when managing the airline.
Both Sowers and Tranter claimed that the Muellers were sacrificing safety for the sake of profitability. The Muellers never acknowledged the claim, claiming that there were ulterior motives by the pair.
Less than a year following Sowers and Tranter’s resignation, the airline suffered its first crash. NTSB ruled the crash as pilot error, stating that the pilot was ill-trained to handle the situation.
However, NTSB did also find, and release, that the situation wasn’t helped by the aircraft itself. The FAA hadn’t inspected either aircraft operated by the airline, if they had, they’d have found poor maintenance was partially at fault.
1980’s
Despite the issues in 1979, the Muellers felt confident enough to float the airline on the stock market. In 1981, Comair Holdings was floated on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
In 1982, using the money from the airline’s IPO, the Muellers expanded their fleet. In 1982, the airline received several Embraer EMB-110 Bandeirantes it had ordered in 1981.
1984 saw Delta (as with many other major airlines) get into the regional airline game. Delta, as with many other airlines, established their own regional airline system: Delta Connection.
Delta Connection needed feeder airlines in order to operate, so they placed an ad looking for them. Comair was one of the interested airlines. In 1984, they officially joined Delta Connection.
In 1984, the airline also decided to launch its first international route. The airline flew flights to and from Toronto from its Cincinnati operating base, operating as Delta Connection.
The airline had been particularly successful as a Delta Connections airline. Delta management had seen this and were impressed, deciding to buy a 20% stake in the airline in 1986.
1990’s
The late 1980’s and early 1990’s saw unparalleled profitability for the airline. With this, Delta continued to acquire a larger portion of the company year-on-year. By October 1999, Delta owned 100% of the airline.
In 1993, the airline was the first place orders for the Canadair RJ 100 (now known as the Bombardier CRJ100), becoming the type’s launch customer. Over time, the airline would become the type’s largest operator.
The mid-1990’s saw the airline also place several orders for the Canadair RJ 200 (now known as the Bombardier CRJ 200). Eventually operating a fleet of 37 CRJ 200s over the years.
By the late 1990’s, the airline had placed orders, and subsequently received fleets of Bombardier CRJ 700 and Bombardier CRJ 900 aircraft. At one point in time, operating over 170 Bombardier Regional Jets.
The 1990’s, under majority Delta control, saw a huge increase in routes awarded to the airline. Combined with Delta-owned Endeavor Air, the two airlines flew the majority of Delta Connection’s routes.
Delta awarded the airline several new routes, most of which high(er) density international routes, with were therefore more profitable for the airline. This was able to finance the airline’s expansion.
2000’s
However, pilot wages hadn’t increased during this time. After multiple times asking for raises, the Comair Pilot’s Union went on strike in March 2001, demanding higher wages for its pilots. After 89 days, Delta made the concessions.
Whilst the Comair pilots were satisfied with their wage increases, it had almost crippled Delta. During the time, Delta was forced to ground many of its mainstream flights, aggravating its mainstream pilots who were unable to work.
The wage increases had also crippled Delta from a financial aspect. Delta was forced to take on more debt to pay the wages of both Delta Express and Comair pilots.
Following the 9/11 attacks, Delta was crippled even more. The only part of the business that was somewhat profitable was Delta Connection. This led many Delta pilots to try to fly for Comair, although doing so caused issues.
By flying for a Delta-owned, Delta Connection subsidiary, the pilots would have to give up their seniority at Delta. Essentially, they’d have to take a major pay cut if they still wanted to fly.
This angered mainstream Delta pilots even more towards the airline. Due to Delta’s debt from Comair, the Western Airlines merger and the downturn following 9/11, Delta filed for bankruptcy in 2005.
The only way to save Delta was to shrink it. Not only was the main Delta fleet shrank but so was its subsidiaries’ fleets, including Comair. Both Comair’s fleet and routes were shrank in 2005.
2010’s
Despite the setbacks in the early and mid-2000’s, the late 2000’s had proven to be somewhat beneficial for the airline. Most industry experts believed that the airline would be incredibly profitable, even if Delta was not.
In September 2010, in an attempt to keep up with its competitors, the airline announced that it would be phasing out its older CRJ100 and CRJ200 models by the end of 2012.
By 2011, the airline had received its final CRJ900 aircraft. As such, the airline began to properly phase out its CRJ100s, replacing them with newer, longer, faster and more fuel efficient CRJ900s.
What Delta and Comair hadn’t (officially) told their staff was that they would also be downsizing their workforce as well. Beginning in 2011, anyone hired before 1999 was furloughed.
In the end, the airline had 40 aircraft and around 500 employees. In July 2012, Delta announced it would be closing down its Comair subsidiary, with the majority of its routes being taken over by Compass Airlines.
Comair’s last flight took place on September 29 2012. The last flight was on board a Bombardier CRJ 900, travelling between Jacksonville International Airport and Minneapolis/Saint Paul International Airport.
What Was it Like to Fly on Comair?
Personally, I never flew on the airline. However, I was able to interview a close personal friend of mine who had flown on the airline, both when it was independent, a Delta Connection partner and when it was under Delta ownership.
She had this to say about the airline:
When it was independent, it was like any other regional airline of its time. The flight was mediocre in my opinion- the service was okay, the flight was mostly smooth, but it was very loud compared to other regional airlines.
A few months later, it became a Delta Connection partner. I have to say, I didn’t even realize it was the same airline to begin with! The service was great, the flight was organized and smooth and seemed really professional!
Later, when Delta became the owner, nothing dramatic changed. But the staff became much more professional, the pilots seemed as though they’d spent a few more hours in the simulator and the seats were better quality.
If I had to say which of the three “versions” of the company I preferred, I would have to say that it would be the Delta-owned “version” although I didn’t mind it once it had become a Delta Connection partner either!
How Safe Was Comair?
As it was a subsidiary of Delta, a bad record for Comair was seen as a bad record for Delta itself. Just as with Delta Air Lines, Comair prided itself on its safety record, claiming it was among the safest regional airlines!
Over its 35 year history, Comair had only four accidents. These four crashes resulted in a relatively low 84 fatalities. Alongside this, there were also a few minor injuries for those who were involved in the accidents.
The vast majority of these crashes were down to pilot error, where the pilot failed to do something that would’ve saved the flight. The other reasons were due to freak accidents that no one could’ve predicted.
For the vast majority of its history, Delta made sure that only the safest aircraft were being flown. Even in its early years, when safety was less of a concern, Delta Connection made sure to never allow its airlines to operate dangerous aircraft.
Legacy
Comair left not only an impact on Delta Air Line, but also the airline industry itself, both when it was founded and when it ceased operations!
Delta
Delta remained in the regional air travel business, using the other Delta Connection airline it owned, Compass Airlines. To this day, Delta Connection is still running, operating many of the same routes that Comair did.
With the cessation of the airline’s operations, all of its fleet, employees and routes were taken over by the aforementioned Compass Airlines. This made it so Delta had to overly rely on Compass to keep Delta Connection running.
Following the airline’s demise, Delta was able to stay just about profitable in order to continue operations. It was able to make a profit that made it worth investing in, rather than liquidating.
Delta also (should have) learned that pilots hate being treated unfairly, even if that is just a perception. It brought down Comair, almost brought down Delta, as well as bringing down Delta Express and Song.
Airline Industry
Comair made it so that Delta could enter the regional airline business. Their early successes showed Delta that their pre-1978 way of thinking was flawed and that in order to survive, they needed to continue to innovate.
Delta Connection was a very profitable venture for Delta, netting them millions since 1984. This success convinced other airlines to do the same, establishing their own Connection-inspired programs.
This has led to the regional airline business becoming as competitive, if not more so than the mainstream airline business. Not only do the “Big Three” legacy carriers operate regional airline schemes, but so do independent airlines.
The airline also failed because it couldn’t properly make enough money and avoid month-long strikes, that annoy their mainstream pilots. Other airlines have taken note and have made concessions accordingly.
Did you ever fly on Comair? What was it like? Tell me in the comments!
Photo courtesy of Aero Icarus via Flickr.