At the opening of a final hearing Friday in New York, Hardin said to company lawyers that the choices are that "you close the company if I deny this motion. And if I grant it, (the flight attendants) strike."
No matter how he rules, Hardin's decision will have serious consequences for the Erlanger-based regional airline.
Today is Hardin's self-imposed deadline to act on the company's request to reject its contract with the airline's nearly 1,000 flight attendants, which would allow management to impose its own terms.
However, the judge could delay a ruling, as in similar cases, to give the two sides more time to reach an agreement on their own.
The company is seeking $8.9 million in annual concessions. The cuts are needed, Comair officials say, for the carrier to keep flying for parent Delta Air Lines.
In court filings, Comair and Delta said Comair lost $120 million in 2005, a figure the union disputes but that the company says includes Delta's costs.
Comair operates the most flights locally at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Delta's second-largest hub. Comair and Delta combine to employ nearly 7,000 locally.
A flight attendant strike is an unappealing option for the airline. That's especially true since its reputation has been stained by two major operational disruptions in the past five years — the 89-day pilot strike of spring 2001, and the three-day shutdown during Christmas Week 2004 caused by a severe winter storm and computer failure.
Comair spokeswoman Kate Moser said that the airline was taking "all precautions necessary, both legal and operational, to protect our customers."
She would not elaborate, but she did say, "Any disruption would be fatal to Comair."
Connie Slayback, president of the local Teamsters branch that represents the flight attendants, acknowledged the gravity of the situation and said the union would prefer not to walk out.
"But we will do what we have to do," she said.
Pilots, mechanics have stake
Comair has said that without the full $8.9 million from the flight attendants, similar concessionary agreements reached earlier this year with its pilot and mechanic unions will not kick in — leaving the airline with costs that are too high.
In fact, Delta has already cut 26% of its flying in Cincinnati, and Comair is in the process of laying off 1,000 — primarily because Delta cut the amount it pays Comair to fly routes by 3.8%, or more than $40 million a year.
Lisa Beckerman, who represents Delta's unsecured creditors, said if all the cuts are not made, Delta will move planes to other regional carriers — and Comair would be liquidated.
"That business (Delta routes) can be migrated to other parties," Beckerman said after Friday's hearing. "You just can't ignore a $120 million loss."
In addition, Sean Anderson, the Delta official who oversees the airline's regional network as a whole, testified two weeks ago that it would take about 18 months to move all of Comair's planes and routes to other carriers.
In court Friday, Comair lawyers warned Hardin that without the cuts — and without the agreements with the other two unions — the airline could be back asking for rejection of the pilot and mechanic contracts.
The airline is trying to cut $42.3 million out of its labor costs, and has gotten $17.3 million annually from its 1,700-member pilot union and $1 million from its 500 mechanics. But those deals don't go into effect until the flight attendants take the full $8.9 million.
The company has taken imposed wage cuts on non-union workers, including customer service agents, administrative workers, and executives.
Other unions firm
J.C. Lawson, chairman of Comair's branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, acknowledged that the deal does include such a stipulation and said his union would hold the company to its end of the bargain.
If the company got less than $8.9 million from the flight attendants, "then certainly we would have to talk with the company further," Lawson said. "I can't say what would happen beyond that."
As for the mechanics, union spokesman Joe Tiberi would not speculate on what would happen if the flight attendant cuts are not taken or are less than the full amount.
"Those terms are in there for a reason — to protect our members," said Tiberi. "And we expect the company to abide by them."
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