"Comair's president quits after Christmas fiasco"

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Comair's president quits after Christmas fiasco
By John Nolan
The Associated Press


CINCINNATI -- The president of Delta subsidiary Comair Inc. resigned Monday,
weeks after the failure of an overloaded computer system stranded hundreds
of customers on Christmas.

An internal Delta memo said Randy Rademacher had stepped down to pursue
other unspecified opportunities. Asked whether Rademacher was pressured to
leave, Comair spokesman Nick Miller said: "It was his personal decision. We
don't want to speculate on his reasons."

A telephone message seeking comment from Rademacher was not immediately
returned Monday.

Rademacher was immediately replaced by Fred Buttrell, who has been serving
as the head of Delta Airlines Inc.'s Delta Connection group, which works
with the airline's regional carriers. Comair, which is based at the
Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport, is owned by Delta.

At least one analyst blamed Rademacher's departure on the Christmas fiasco
that resulted in the cancellation of approximately 1,100 flights. The
company blamed numerous passenger scheduling changes because of an ice storm
for overloading the computer system.

"It's pretty obvious what happened over the holiday was very serious," said
Doug Abbey, a partner of The Velocity Group, an aviation consulting firm
based in Washington, D.C. "That's what this is all about."

Comair, which operates in 119 cities, carries about 30,000 passengers daily
in the United States, mostly east of the Mississippi River, and to Canada
and the Bahamas.

Its Christmas meltdown came during the same weekend that financially plagued
US Airways Group experienced a similar fiasco because of labor issues and
bad weather. But unlike US Airways and even Comair parent Delta, which has
come close to filing for bankruptcy, Comair's balance sheet has received
little attention. Delta doesn't reveal how much profit Comair brings to the
Delta system. But former Delta chief executive Leo Mullin said several years
ago that collective revenue from Comair and other Delta Connection carriers
that coordinate schedules with Delta was in the billions of dollars
annually.

Rademacher had been Comair's president for five years and joined the airline
in 1985. His tenure included guiding Comair through a three-month strike by
its pilots that won them pay increases in a new contract.

In a letter Monday, Buttrell, 42, told Comair's 6,000 employees that Comair
must focus on improving the safety and reliability of its operations and
customer service, along with a strategic plan to build its strength as a
regional carrier.

"We will need every bit of your spirit and passion to take on the hard work
necessary to put Comair back in the leadership position that built the
company over the years," Buttrell wrote.

As head of Delta's group of feeder carriers, Buttrell has assigned some of
Delta's supplemental flight business to operations other than Comair,
including Chautauqua, Abbey said. Buttrell likely will focus on trying to
control Comair's labor costs, Abbey said.

"This is a subtle message to Comair and the pilots that they need to be
mindful of their costs," Abbey said.


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