Everything about Compass Airlines North America totally explained
Compass Airlines is a regional airline based in
Chantilly, an area in unincorporated
Fairfax County,
Virginia,
USA. It is a subsidiary of
Northwest Airlines that began flying a single
Bombardier CRJ-200LR aircraft under the
Northwest Airlink brand between
Minneapolis/St. Paul and
Washington, D.C. on
May 2,
2007. Its main base is
Minneapolis/St. Paul. On August 21, 2007, it began flying two
Embraer 175 76-passenger aircraft, with a planned fleet of 36 aircraft by December, 2008.
History
Compass Airlines was formed as a result of a contract dispute between Northwest Airlines and its pilots union, the
Airline Pilots Association (ALPA), due to a "scope clause" in the Northwest pilot contract, intended in its collective bargaining agreement to protect jobs and pay of those flying aircraft of 76 passenger seats or less.
In order to adapt to the agreement, and fulfill a need to serve the regional markets with smaller, more efficient aircraft and a cost-effective labor force, Northwest bought the
operating certificate of bankrupt
Independence Air on
March 10,
2006, for $2 million. As a result, Compass' operations are limited to 76-seat aircraft or less, due to the language in the pilot contract at the mainline carrier. (During the concept phase, the subsidiary was known as "
NewCo".) It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northwest.
On
September 28,
2006, Compass Airlines officially received approval from the
United States Department of Transportation to begin operations. On
April 5,
2007, Compass Airlines received
FAA certification to begin commercial passenger operations with a CRJ-200
Compass' aircraft are not a direct replacement for the aging
Douglas DC-9 aircraft flown by Northwest. However, they've a lower
cost per available seat mile, making them more efficient to operate.
The Embraer-175 aircraft has a two-class configuration, with 12 first-class and 64 economy-class seats.
On
May 2,
2007, the company announced their first successful revenue flight with the Canadair 50-seat CRJ, from
Washington Dulles airport to
Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport., which maintained the operating certificate. Compass announced Embraer operations on August 21, 2007.
Compass Airlines has bases (Flight Crews and Maintenance) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, Detroit, MI and Memphis, TN.
The flight attendants at Compass attempted to organize and affiliate with the
Association of Flight Attendants in January, 2008. The result was the majority of eligible FAs voted against the union in support of early stages of airline growth.
Destinations
Current
Canada
Mexico
Nuevo Leon
Arizona
Florida
Illinois
Minnesota
Massachusetts
Michigan
Montana
Nebraska
New Jersey
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin
Fleet
The Compass Airlines fleet includes the following aircraft as of April 2008:
Maintenance Operations
In September, 2007, Compass announced that construction of a new hangar at Louisville International Airport in Louisville, KY, to be completed by the fall of 2008. The new hangar will have three aircraft bays to service its new fleet of 76-seat Embraer E-175 regional jet aircraft.
The project is planned to be about 136,000 square feet, and will be built on 4.8 acres.
The $9.9 million project is expected to create about 70 full-time jobs with an annual payroll of $3.1 million. The jobs will include skilled mechanics, management and technical-services employees.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority in Frankfort granted the airline preliminary approval for $2 million in state tax incentives for up to 10 years just for using their city as their hangar location.
Incidents
On May 8, 2008 Compass Airlines Flight 2040 bound for Regina, Saskatchewan from Minneapolis with 72 passengers on board was forced to land in Fargo, North Dakota after a fire broke out in the restroom. The plane landed at 11:00 pm; no injuries to passengers were reported. A week after the incident a 19-year-old flight attendant was charged with starting the fire.Further Information
Get more info on 'Compass Airlines North America'.
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