Delta Air Lines subsidiary, Comair, Inc. reports it will cease operations after Sept. 29, 2012, according to Ryan Gumm, President of Comair. "There will be no disruption to customers and no significant adjustments to Delta's flight schedule or locations served. All customers who travel on the Delta network, whether on Delta Connection flights or mainline aircraft, can continue to make travel plans with Delta as they have in the past," Gumm said.
Delta said regional flying will remain a key component of Delta's network, but customer expectations and the unit costs of regional flying have evolved. In response, Delta said, it seeks to reduce the total number of regional jets in its network while adding more mainline flying.
"This includes reducing the number of 50-seat regional jets from nearly 350 aircraft to 125 or fewer in the upcoming years. As a result of this reduction and changes to its customer-focused business strategy, Delta has made the difficult decision to cease Comair's operations," Gumm said
Cincinnati will continue to be an important market in Delta's worldwide network, Gumm said. Over the past several years Delta said it has right-sized capacity at Cincinnati to better match service to local passenger demand. Cincinnati is now a profitable market for Delta and the city has over 120 peak daily flights, with non-stop service to 49 destinations. No reductions in the number of Delta flights are planned at Cincinnati as a result of this decision.
Delta recently announced its intent to reduce the overall number of 50-seat regional jets in its network from nearly 350 to 125 or fewer in light of the changes in the economic and competitive conditions in the airline industry, Delta said.
Comair operates some of the oldest 50-seat aircraft in the Delta Connection fleet, which also have the highest unit cost per flight hour, Delta said. Higher unit costs equates to a business model that is no longer sustainable in a competitive regional environment.
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