First I want to be clear that I am not blaming the pilots. This sucks for the Comair guys and as someone who has been furloughed, I feel your pain. This is a horrible industry and it just plain sucks to see a company with a strong contract lose this much flying.

That said, I want to comment on the cost discussion. Earlier in the summer, I started a thread to try and compare staffing levels at the Delta Regionals. http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/re...regionals.html The numbers from that thread still surprise me. They may be inaccurate, but here is Comair vs. Pinnacle.

Pinnacle: Total Block = 39035, Total Pilots = 1225, Hours per pilot = 63.73
Comair: Total Block = 22782, Total Pilots = 1021, Hours per pilot = 44.62

Pinnacle was in serious need of hiring at that point, and still is, but I find it amazing that Pinnacle pilots average about 40% more flying per month. If you cover our flying with Comair's staffing, it would take 1749 pilots. 524 extra pilots on staff over the course of a year would be a huge expense.

I know there are more costs associated with a company than just pilots, but figured this could add to the discussion.

Again, I am sorry to hear the news guys. Truly sucks, especially for those of you who just accepted the recall.