Compass Airlines (North America)
Compass Airlines is a new subsidiary to Northwest Airlines to be launched in June of 2006 flying a single Bombardier CRJ-200 between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Washington Dulles. During the concept phase, the subsidiary was known as "NewCo".
Compass was formed due to a contract dispute between Northwest and it's pilot's union. Due to the scope clause in the pilot's contracts, the number of mid-sized jets operated by the airline was limited. In order to avert this problem, Northwest bought the operating certificate of defunct Independence Air on March 10, 2006, for $2 Million, in order to establish a new feeder airline. It is speculated that Compass will operate Embraer E-170/175s, while mainline Northwest will operate E-190s. These aircraft will help to replace the aging DC-9s and lower CASM.
While the order and delivery of these aircraft are pending, a single CRJ-200 will remain in service to preserve the airline's operating certificate.
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