Delta regional airline closing Orlando hub

HEBRON, KENTUCKY - Comair will close its Orlando, Fla., hub this fall as the regional airline leaves the Florida market to concentrate on more profitable business travelers. <br> <br> The Delta Air Lines subsidiary also said Monday it would move its pilot and flight attendant bases from Orlando to Dallas within the next year. <br> <br> Comair employs about 400 at its Orlando hub. The airline is encouraging about 150 pilots and flight attendants to transfer, especially since the airline is expected to receive 60 new planes in 2002-03. <br> <br> Employees such as mechanics and customer service workers will keep their jobs, Comair president Randy Rademacher said. <br> <br> ``This is kind of bittersweet for us, because Orlando has been such a key part of our operation for such a long time,&#39;&#39; said Rademacher. Comair opened the Florida hub in 1987. <br> <br> Fred Butrell, Delta Connection&#39;s president and chief executive, said Comair will expand its presence in the Dallas market early next year. The city also is served by Delta Connection carriers Atlantic Southeast and Utah-based SkyWest. <br> <br> Indianapolis-based carrier Chautauqua Airlines will assume the Florida routes.

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