Originally Posted by
skywatch
Comair also got an great contract, industry leading, in a whipsaw happy world. You remember them, right? There was also a pilot shortage then, and it took a big event (9/11) to kick that can down the road.
Not sure what time frame you are referring to about a pilot shortage? The mid to late 1990s had a hiring wave that all abruptly ended in 2001 and created a decade of career destruction.
A great pilot contract had nothing to do with the shutdown of Comair.
Comair had the oldest fleet of 50 seat RJs in the Delta system.
Fuel prices went through the roof and Delta management had realized they had way overbought on 50 seaters.
Larger RJs (better CASMs) were coming to Comair.
As Delta needed to drastically reduce 50 RJs, they went to all of their regional contractors asking for reductions. All of the regional partners were independent companies (unlike Comair) who told them to pound sand as their fleets were protected by existing contracts.
The one fleet that was not protected under contract (Air Service Agreement) was the wholly-owned Comair fleet. All future 70-90 seat RJs were then diverted from going to Comair to instead go to other regionals on a 2 for 1 reduction of 50 seaters.
The remaining 50 seater Comair fleet was parked in an orderly shutdown.
Saying Comair shut down over pilot pay is like saying I don't drive a Ferrari because I can't afford the gas.
Same for Comair, same now. Just because we, as pilots, think the world revolves around us, doesn't actually mean that it does.
Aircraft fleet selection, fleet size, aircraft financing, fuel burn, network routes structure, hubs strategy, aircraft utilization, maintenance, etc. have way more impact to the bottom line than the pennies a pilot may make over his/her competition.