Booking Comair flights?

[Ladygator]

We are going to WDW 9/26 - 9/ 30 and normally fly Delta from RDU. Unless we want to connect through Atlanta, we normally take Comair direct from RDU to MCO. Should we book a direct Comair flight, hoping they get the strike resolved or should we go ahead and book through Atlanta on Delta? We would consider other airlines but we have vouchers for Delta that will significantly reduce our fares. Also, we are traveling with 3 children ages 6, 4 and 1, otherwise connecting through Atlanta wouldn't be that big of a deal. Thanks for any input you may have.

 

[Godfather]

it was just on the news this morning that they have not settled anything and all the comair employees are hurting and if it continues much longer they probably will cease operations completely as they have lost too much money due to the pilots.

 

[Tess]

We had ComAir from Toledo to Cincinnati and then on to Orlando on Delta. Our flight was scheduled for 6/16 and with the latest rejection of mediation by the pilots, we are all but assured our flight would be cancelled on 5/15.

I called Delta and had a rather surly reservationist who rebooked us out of Detroit Metro on a very early Delta to Atlanta to Orlando flight. We were then told to head to a ticket counter and get reticketed. As we drove to the Toledo airport, we were discussing how it would be better to go late in the afternoon on Friday 6/15 rather than the EARLY, EARLY flight we were rebooked on.

When we got to the airport, the Delta personnel at the counter couldn't have been more polite. She said she would gladly change our seats to Friday 6/15 at a time more conducive to our needs since "after all, it's not your fault that you can't take the booked flight".

We were thrilled! Now we will be sleeping our aiport night in Orlando and will be up with the birds to check in at Polynesian on Saturday 6/16! I love it when a plan comes together.

Now, my only concern (and I'm going to place a different post to get an answer) is the gate agent did not reticket, rather she printed out the new itinerary page and told us that our tickets would be fine despite the date/flight changes. I did check through the automation system and we are, indeed, booked as planned.

If you book a ComAir flight AND it goes bad--the Delta counter people surely did right by us! It is an even better situation than our original plan!

 

[sgtdisney]

The management at Comair has threatened to dissolve the airline if the strike is not resolved soon. That may effect your plans slightly.

 

[Laz]

I spent the weekend in Cinci, and the news is not good for Comair. Their will be no talks for at least 30 days. Out of all the options available, the won most viable for Delta is to begin to sell aircraft and layoff workers. The pilots state that pilots are in such demand that if Comair folds they can find another job quickly. Eventually, Delta will disolve Comair to find another Carrier for the Cinci hub.

While my flights on Comair will not be tickted until next month, Delta has assured me that I will be on another carrier. Fort Wayne has been using Alantic Southeastern Airlines with flights to Atlanta. On Some cases they put you on another Airline totally.

 

[msdis]

Any new news? We are booked on Comair in Oct. First Delta said they would refund us then they said they would not until 60 days out. If we have to wait too long all the sales will be gone and so will the best seats, flight times and min. layover itiniraries on the other airlines. Someone posted they are not talking for 30 days. What does that amount to? Then what? If Delta dissolves Comair then what? We have such problems getting airlines in our local airport as it is! Laying off most workers during this period makes sense, but selling planes? That sounds like Comair is finished! That's liquidation of assests. I hope these pilots realize the extent and how many people this affects. Just how underpaid are they? No-one is going to win!

 

[TravelSheryl]

Comair flights are cancelled through July 21st at this time. Which airport are you flying from?

 

[Beverly Lynn]

Pilots may be in demand but a lot of carriers have a freeze on right now with this UA/US buyout. and the proposed talks with CO/DL...... its tough out there in the airline industry. I think the comair pilots bit their noses a little too hard. they can't expect to have a job after all this and they have lost too much to be able to make it profitable enough to give them all this money they want now. if you want to use the vouchers then you might have to go DL thru atlanta now......since cincinatti and atlanta and salt lake city are their hubs.......unfortunately I see no other routing on them at this time. unless when you speak to one of their res agents and ask if its possible to route you in a way to avoid atlanta and not worrying about CVG (cincinatti) either. and its also possible that they may even start to use their own aircraft from cincinnati to orlando now!

 

[CarolA]

I find the Comair Pilots statement a little strange. If they are so under paid and pilots are so in demand why didn't they just quit and take one of those other great jobs? Anyway I think the pilots in demand are qualified on the big jets which the Comair pilots aren't. Hmm... I did a really stupid thing and acutally bought a comair ticket last week (Don't ask, my brain was NOT in gear!) I guess I better call Delta!

 

[CarolA]

Update!
I just called Delta and rebooked my flight for the end of June. They were great and gave me several options. So at least that worked out!

 

[sgtdisney]

The Comair pilots are trying to get pay levels comparable to what the pilots at Delta are making. A first year pilot at Comair is (or was as it may be) making approximately 16,000 per year which translates into about 7.50 per hour. Their complaint is you can actually make more than that working at a local McDonalds, yet they are responsible for peoples lives everyday. This is in contrast to the recent agreement Delta made with their pilots where a Captain of a 777 (with many many years of experince of course) will be earing over 200,000 per year.

Of course there are many more variables in play here, and I am not saying I advocate what is happening with Comair, but just wanted to offer a little perspective on things....

 

[TravelSheryl]

CarolA, you may be interested in these comments from a United Airlines First Officer who currently flies the Airbus 320 and has previously flown the 737 for the same airline. He will be entering training this summer to fly the 777.

These comments would seem to be unbiased to me since he does not work for Delta or any of its subsidiaries.

"Yes, but they are asking to be paid like airline pilots, not like regional pilots. They're not asking for 747 or even 737 wages, just to be paid for doing the job that they are doing. Let me ask you, if you flew from Montreal to Toronto on a CRJ instead of a DC9, do you get a break on the price of the ticket? Why should the pilots get paid under a completely different set of rules.

I didn't say that an RJ pilot should be paid the same as a DC9 pilot, and the Comair pilots are not asking for that. But if an RJ has half the number of seats that a DC9 has, wouldn't it seem reasonable that an RJ pilot would make half of what a DC9 pilot makes? In most cases, the RJ pilots actually make more like 1/4 to 1/3 of the DC9 pay, and raising them even to 1/2 of the DC9 pay would result in large increases over what is currently being offered. The Comair pilots are also looking to gain a retirement program, which would be another indication of career employment rather than a stepping stone job."

 

[CarolA]

TravelSherry,
I am NOT saying that they should not be paid more. I jus think that the statement that was attributed to them about the fact that they could just get a job was either not in touch with their reality. Of course they may not have actually said that.

Personally I have always liked Comair and hope they can work this out. They are normally on time and have nice crews unlike some of the other Delta commuter feeders.

I am sure that we are NOT getting the full picture here of the negoitations and what is being said. Each side has hired PR people to help them "spin" this so that the other side looks like the villian! Unless we are locked in the room with them we don't know (and since they are not even meeting we would be very lonely in the room!)

 

[msdis]

Wow, I hope they are not only making 16,000 per year vs. the senior pilots at 200,000 per year. No they should not make the same but 16,000 is an insult. The whole thing that bothers me is that everyone is talking about how the inexperienced pilots SHOULD be paid a lot less. Well, in some instances in the workforce I would totally agree but a pilot is a VERY serious position. Just because a pilot only flies around 30-50 people vs. 200-300 people per flight doesn't mean those 30-50 peoples lives are worth less than the 200-300 people. This whole thing scares me. Also, I have seen older pilots on comair flights so I don't think they can ALL be rookies.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm sure we will get there one way or another it's just we feel we paid a good price to get exactly what we wanted and now I feel we will get 2nd or 3rd class for what we feel we paid for 1st class in coach. My dad just went thru re-booking for a trip in 3 weeks and they had to make the return flight a day later than the original and my bil & sil had a nightmare experience in Mar. as they were headed for a non-refundable cruise. They had to be put on a 6 hr bus to Boston where they had to stay overnight since the re-booked flight was too early, then they had to stay overnight on the return since they had no return flights on the original return date. That's enough stress for me to want to stay home.