Raymond A. Mueller (father) and David R. Mueller (son), founders of Comair, the Cincinnati based Delta Connection airline, have had a dramatic impact on aviation in America and on the economic growth of Northern Kentucky.
This father/son team started Comair in Cincinnati in ’77; they had three aircraft and just three destinations. Their hard work and tireless efforts turned a small, family-owned company into the world’s largest independently owned regional airline. Comair carries 500,000 passengers each month from hubs in Cincinnati and Orlando (6.4 million customers annually). They offer more than 750 daily departures to 89 cities in 32 states and three countries. Comair was a US regional airline pioneer by converting from turboprops to regional jets. They own 90 Canadair Regional Jets and operate the largest fleet of Canadair Regional Jets in the world.
Comair also operates the world’s largest, most advanced regional airline facility, Concourse C at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Awards received by Comair include Regional Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine in ’91, Best-Managed Major Airline by Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine in ’99 and Regional Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine in 2000.
Raymond Mueller, who retired as Chairman of the Board of Comair in ’90, was a multi-engine, instrument-rated pilot; he actively flew until age 65.
David Mueller is past Chairman of Comair. He is Chairman of the Delta Connection Carrier Advisory Committee. He was Regional Airline World’s 1999 Airline Executive of the Year. He has a strong flying background: corporate pilot, certified flight instructor, helicopter pilot. He has flown for 31 years and currently flies small erobatic aircraft from a private strip on his 150-acre farm in Verona, KY.
