Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC
Mesa Airlines has moved to fill the gap left by strike-bound Comair, revealing plans to start up services from Cincinnati on routes normally flown by the Delta Air Lines-owned regional.
Phoenix-based Mesa is to offer flights to Washington DC, Chicago, St Louis, Toronto, Nashville and Knoxville beginning 8 July. Air Canada Regional is already moving into the lucrative market left open since Comair pilots went on strike on 26 March, by offering flights between Cincinnati and Toronto from 4 June.
Mesa will serve the new routes with Bombardier CRJs and Raytheon Beech 1900s, expanding from the initial six cities as aircraft availability and market demand permit.
Delta Connection carrier Comair, the USA's second largest regional airline, is laying off 400 of its remaining 2,000 non-striking employees and selling off an additional 20 Bombardier CRJs because of the ongoing strike by its 1,350 pilots.
The strikers, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, recently rejected a new contract offer from Comair. No new talks were scheduled between the two parties as Flight International went to press. Comair previously laid off 2,000 non-striking workers and sold off eight CRJ100s and nine Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia turboprops. Around 200 pilot positions will be eliminated as a result of the latest fleet reduction. The pilots, who rejected a contract offer brokered by the National Mediation Board by a margin of 10 to one, said the deal contained insufficient retirement benefits and medical coverage and unacceptable work rules. Delta and the striking pilots seem willing to let Comair shut down for good.
"If a settlement is not reached on the terms that preserve Comair's ability to compete and grow, Delta will be forced to look at other ways to utilise the assets of Comair," says Delta president Frederick Reid. The airline claims that submitting to the pilots' demand for pay and condition parity with mainline crews would undermine the regional operation. Delta paid $1.8 billion in 1999 for the 78% holding in Comair it did not already own.
Delta's options include completely closing down Comair and dividing its aircraft and network between the carrier's three other Connection partners, including its other wholly owned subsidiary Atlanta-based Atlantic Southeast Airlines, as well as New York-based start-up ACJet and Denver-based SkyWest. Prior to the strike Comair operated 800 flights daily and carried around 15% of Delta's total traffic.
The airline has deferred delivery of 45 new CRJ200s and 27 CRJ700s ordered last year, the first two of which have been completed and are now parked at Montreal.
Additional reporting by Paul Lewis
Source: Flight International
