Sold...

http://atwonline.com/airline-finance-data/news/delta-sells-subsidiaries-mesaba-compass-pinnacle-trans-states-0701

Wow. I sure can't say I saw that coming. There's been an awful lot of rumor mill madness since the whole Delta take over of Northwest. Mesaba, Compass, Comair, Skywest, ASA, Colgan, Pinnacle, Mesa... (Did I miss any?) all regional airlines serving one major. I think we were all kinda hoping that Pinnacle would go away. Instead, Mesa was the first one under the gun. It took several shots, but eventually, the Delta lawyers kept at it and the contract between Mesa and Delta was no more. I shudder to think how much those lawyers cost...

Most of us figured there would be another regional on the chopping block. Compass and Mesaba seemed safe in the past since they were wholly owned, not independent contractors to Delta. Pinnacle has built a very shoddy reputation in this industry. Horrid management, very slack safety practices, and lots of bent metal. Using logic, you'd think this was the kind of company that Delta wouldn't want to do business with. After all, the Colgan Q400 that went down in Buffalo, killing 50 people, did so with a Continental Airlines logo on it's tale. It was pretty obvious in the news since the tail was the one identifiable piece of the airframe remaining.

However, Mesaba and Compass were just sold off. That part, honestly, doesn't shock me. I don't think the majors care to "own" regionals anymore. However, the two companies that Delta sold to is what shocked me. Compass went to Trans States. Ouch. Trans States has been shitting on it's employees for years and years. They are currently facing $2.5 Million in fines from the FAA due to a "litany of maintenance lapses." Sounds like a great company to work with. I don't even know how long it's been since they had a fair contract with their crews.

Mesaba was sold to Pinnacle. Where do we even start with this one. If we take into account that Colgan is owned by Pinnacle, then we can start with the Q400 crash in Buffalo, which killed 50 people. Going back a little further, flight 3701 was a reposition flight with no passengers aboard. I could go on at length about this one. The pilots did everything they could to get the aircraft to 41,000 ft for their own pride and egos. They made it. But they're both dead now. There was also a little incident in Traverse City, Michigan. Poor weather conditions and poor crew judgment lead to the aircraft landing and running off the end of the runway. Pinnacle even had several incidences where they went to take off with ice on the wings, only to be stopped by another airline pilot who was deadheading on the flight, who noticed the ice and saw the crew was not stopping in the deice pad. They were going to try and take off. The pilot stood up and announced to the passengers that we was a qualified pilot on that aircraft and this plane will not fly with contaminated wings. It also can't take off with him out of his seat. The plane returned to the gate and the flight was canceled. A similar incident with contaminated wings was averted only by the tower closing the runway due to snow build up before they could attempt a take off.

This is a big sign to the traveling public. Do you recall how I was saying that no airline CEO really gives a crap about safety even though they always talk about how safe their operations are? After all, safety costs money. All a business person wants to do is lower costs and maximize profits. Good maintenance costs money. Having more pilots to avoid overworking your crews costs money. Why the hell would a bean counter want anything to do with safety? You might say, if you don't pay now by investing in safety, you will pay later when an aircraft crashes and people die. However, this isn't how things are looked at in the airline business. Everything is very reactive, rather than proactive. After all, the excel spread sheet shows how much money can be made if they cut corners right now. A crash? Eh, deal with that later.

If Delta gave a shit about safety, they would have never sold two very solid companies like Compass and Mesaba to companies like Pinnacle and Trans States. After all, with the sale, goes the aircraft and the routes. Delta has just rewarded the piss poor actions of Pinnacle and Trans States with more aircraft and more flying. More business. All Delta sees is money. They don't care that so much regional flying is now going to be under the control of the bottom of the barrel in terms of safety culture, crew pay and crew treatment. They should care, as that's the Delta logo on all of those RJ tails. But, some excel-pilot sees that they are the cheapest carriers. They don't care about the safety. They don't care about the customer. They care only about the customer's money and having fingers to point away from themselves.

And, it's really a slap in the face to the existing employees of both Pinnacle and Trans States when you think about it. They can't seem to ever have any money to pay their crews a decent wage, but they have tens of millions sitting around to buy other companies!