Will Add Four CRJ-900 Airplanes To Its Fleet

Mesa Air Group, Inc. has reached an agreement with US Airways, Inc. to extend the term covering its original 38 CRJ-900 aircraft currently in operation and for the addition of four CRJ-900 aircraft to its current fleet of 47 aircraft. The term of the agreement covering the 38 aircraft was extended until 2021 and the term for the four additional aircraft is eight years from their induction date. No further details of the agreement were released.

Mesa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ornstein said, “We are extremely pleased to extend and expand our relationship with US Airways. This new agreement represents a true milestone for the Company. We now have no material ’tail risk’ associated with aircraft leases beyond our existing service agreements. In addition, Mesa’s fleet is comprised almost exclusively of larger regional jets, which are in high demand with mainline carriers. This extension represents the culmination of our efforts to secure long term agreements covering all of our aircraft, and further solidifies the Company’s position as a strong and highly reliable partner to our code share partners and positions us for significant additional growth in the future. We would like to thank all of our people for their outstanding work and dedication, without whom this deal would not have happened, and our good friends at US Airways who have worked so closely with us for many years,” continued Ornstein.

President and Chief Financial Officer Mike Lotz said, “Our people have worked very hard to achieve both industry leading operating performance while maintaining a low cost structure, and the agreement announced today is tangible recognition of these efforts. While we will undoubtedly face challenges as we go forward, there is no doubt that ’Mesa is back!’“

Mesa currently operates 69 aircraft, with approximately 396 daily system departures to 77 cities, and recently announced an additional 30 Embraer 175 aircraft will be flying for United Airlines. Mesa operates as US Airways Express and United Express under contractual agreements with US Airways and United Airlines, respectively, and independently as go!.

(CRJ-900 pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.mesa-air.com