Mesa, Republic Confirm Merger With Hopes to Seal the Deal in Late 2025

Mesa Air Group and Republic Airways Holdings came forward with a somewhat unexpected merger announcement on April 4. Though the pair is still hammering out details, the deal is expected to close in late 2025.

"Today's announcement is an exciting next step in Mesa's more than 40-year history, one that represents the best outcome for our shareholders, employees, and all of our stakeholders," stated Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa Chairman and CEO. "By bringing the best of our organizations together, we will create a regional carrier that continues to connect communities across America while providing advancement opportunities to our employees.”

The deal combines two regional carriers that do contract flying for the majors, including Delta and American under capacity purchase agreements (CPAs) with Republic and United through both Republic and Mesa. They will operate a conjoined fleet of 310 Embraer 170/175 jets, with over 240 coming from Republic.

The all-stock transaction is expected to finalize in the late third or early fourth quarter of 2025. If current details stay the same, Republic shareholders will take 88 percent of the combined company’s shares, and 6 to 12 percent will go to Mesa’s. Their board will pull six existing directors from Republic and one independent director from Mesa.

One complication that stirs the typical merger mess is the two separate pilot unions, with Republic represented by Teamsters and Mesa by the Air Line Pilots Association. Until a staff deal is worked out, the more than 600 Mesa pilots are remaining “cautiously optimistic,” ALPA stated, in hopes of additional stability and career growth opportunities.

"We are committed to engaging constructively with Republic Airways management and our fellow pilots represented by the Teamsters," explained Captain Scott Norton, chair of the Mesa Airlines Master Executive Council (MEC) "Building upon our established partnership within the United Express network, our goal is to forge a unified pilot group that champions safety, prioritizes job security, and creates clear avenues for professional advancement."

FMI: www.rjet.com, www.mesa-air.com