History Of Comair
Comair airlines were founded in 1977, are a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, and are cleverly based out of the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Comair airlines is credited with introducing North America to regional jets in 1993 and Comair Air Lines was voted the Regional Airline of the Year most recently in 2000 by Air Transport World, an industry magazine and Best-Managed regional airline by Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine in 1999.

While Comair airlines have had its high points, it has also reached its depths. In 2006 it was voted near bottom of the list for worst performing US air carriers in USA Today Newspaper. Its staff is resilient though and it is a leader in regional operations in the US, so Comair is sure to turn it around soon.

In March 1977, Patrick Sowers, Robert Tranter, David Muller, and his father Raymond began scheduled service with two Piper Navajo aircraft out of an airfield in Cincinnati. In 1981, Comair and its parent Comair Holdings made Comair a public company in order to fund its fleet and support the rapid growth these four visionaries had started just four years earlier.

Comair airlines partnership with Delta became official in 1984 when they became a Delta Connection carrier. Delta further vested it’s interested in Comair when it acquired 20% of Comair stock in 1986, followed by full ownership of Comair airlines in 1999. Deltas full purchase price of the fledgling air carrier came at a great cost though; over 2 billion dollars for the company begun less than a quarter century earlier.

The expected series of growing pains were soon to follow Deltas’ overtaking Comair. In March, 2001 the Comair pilots went on strike due to contract disputes which grounded the fleet for nearly three months. In 2004 on Christmas day and the day after Comair canceled all of it’s flights due to a computer glitch. Later the following year, the parent company of Comair, Delta Air Lines, filed for bankruptcy, further complicating an already sticky situation.

But Comair is set to come back strong. They’ve cut internal costs, streamlined their processes, and are ready to turn things around. Comair airlines can either be one of the great American success stories or can simply be a cautionary tale. Only time will tell.