Delta subsidiary, Comair, to cease operations

ATLANTA, 27 July 2012.Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) announced today that its subsidiary, Comair, Inc. will cease operations after Sept. 29, 2012. Comair is a regional carrier that has been in business for 35 years.

A memo that was issued to the Officers and Directors of Delta Air Lines by Don Bornhorse, Senior Vice President of Delta Connection read:

"While regional flying has and will remain a key component of Delta's network, customer expectations and the unit costs of regional flying have evolved. In response, Delta recently announced its plans 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."

Comair, which was founded in 1977, employs 1,700 people and represents approximately one percent of Delta's flying. Delta has said the closure of Comair will not result in significant changes to Delta's network.