In the wake of Comair's computer meltdown over the long Christmas weekend, its long-time president Randy Rademacher suddenly resigned to pursue unspecified opportunities.

Delta Air Lines [DAL], Comair's parent, immediately placed Fred Buttrell into Rademacher's position. As head of Delta Connection, Buttrell had been Rademacher's boss.

Employed with Comair since 1985, Rademacher led the carrier into its merger with Delta and then was the captain of the ship when Comair's pilots staged a three-month strike in 2001. As a result of the strike, Comair pilots ended up with a lucrative contract - the "gold standard" by which every other regional pilot contract is compared against.

With Delta' intent on giving serious consideration this year to spin off its regional units, Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA), some view Buttrell's appointment as an indication that Delta wants to clean house and get Comair in shape for a probable sale. Delta in recent awards of new RJs has favored ASA or independent Delta Connection code-share partners rather than give any more growth opportunities to Comair.

Due to complications from a snowstorm, Comair's software used to schedule flight crews failed because it was overtaxed. It took the carrier nearly a week to fully restore service to its 1,100 daily flights.