Mesa Airlines
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| Founded | 1982 | ||||||
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| Fleet size | 199 | ||||||
| Destinations | 165 | ||||||
| Parent company | Mesa Air Group, Inc. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona | ||||||
| Key people | Jonathan G. Ornstein (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.mesa-air.com | ||||||
Mesa Airlines is an airline based in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. It is a FAA Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It was known briefly as Mountain West Airlines from 1995 to 1996. It operates flights as United Express, US Airways Express, and under the brand go! for flights in the Hawaiian Islands. The brand Mesa Airlines is also used to market flights from Albuquerque and Dallas/Fort Worth that are operated by Air Midwest. [citation needed]
Airline operations
Mesa Airlines operates as [citation needed]:
- US Airways Express using Bombardier CRJ 900, Bombardier CRJ 200, and De Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft under a revenue-guarantee code sharing agreement. Its hubs are in Phoenix and Charlotte.
- United Express using Bombardier CRJ 700, Bombardier CRJ 200, De Havilland Canada Dash 8 and Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft under a revenue-guarantee code sharing agreement. Its hubs are in Chicago, Washington Dulles, and Denver.
- go! using Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft from its hub in Honolulu.
Former airline divisions
- CalPac (California Pacific) (1993-1995)
- Desert Sun Airlines (1995-1996)
- FloridaGulf Airlines (1991-1997)
- Liberty Express Airlines (1994-1997)
- Mountain West Airlines (1995-1996)
- Skyway Airlines (1989-1994)
- Superior Airlines (1994-1995)
History
- From 1989 to 1998, Mesa Airlines operated as a conglomeration of up to eight separate airlines. For the history of the acquisition and expansion of Mesa Airlines during this time frame see Mesa Air Group. The following history section details the history of the individual airlines that comprised Mesa Airlines during this time frame:
Mesa Airlines / Mountain West Airlines
Mesa Airlines was known briefly as Mountain West Airlines from 1995 to 1997. It has had up to four separate operations based on code share partners. As of March 2007, only its America West Express, United Express and go! operations remain in service. [citation needed]
Independent
The original Mesa Airlines operation was founded by Larry and Jane Risley of Farmington, New Mexico, as the flight division of JB Aviation in 1980. In 1982, it began service as Mesa Air Shuttle. Over the next five years it established a presence in New Mexico and built its Albuquerque hub. It eventually expanded into a hub in Phoenix. In 1992, when Mesa established a code share with America West, its Phoenix hub was turned over to the America West Express division.
In 1997, Mesa established a hub at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport, using two Bombardier CRJ aircraft, providing service from Fort Worth to San Antonio, Austin, Houston Hobby, and Colorado Springs. The venture was short-lived and the hub was eliminated during corporate restructuring. The Albuquerque hub was merged into Air Midwest. [citation needed]
America West Express
In September 1992, Mesa negotiated a code sharing agreement with America West to operate out of its Phoenix hub, serving 12 cities. These routes were originally from the independent Mesa operation. The code share allowed increased frequency and increased load factors and expansion into several new markets.
In 1997, Desert Sun Airlines was merged into this division and its Fokker F70s were replaced by Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft. The CRJ-200 aircraft also began replacing the Beechcraft 1900 as the 1900s were transitioned over to Mesa's Air Midwest subsidiary. Beginning in December 1997, Mesa began operating de Havilland Canada Dash 8-200 aircraft between Phoenix and Grand Junction. In 2003, Mesa Airlines took over the operations of Freedom Airlines and Freedom Airlines' CRJ-900s were transferred into the America West Express operation.
On September 16, 2005, America West and US Airways completed their merger. Although the companies merged, as of March2007, the two flight operations have not been merged and Mesa continues to code share with the new US Airways Group as US Airways Express under its America West Express code share agreement. It operates CRJ-200 and CRJ-900 aircraft from hubs in Charlotte and Phoenix, and Dash-8 aircraft from its Phoenix hub. [citation needed]
US Airways Express
In November 1997, Mesa negotiated a code share agreement to provide service to US Airways as US Airways Express for 14 turbojets to various cities from its Philadelphia and Charlotte hub. In 1998 and 2000, the agreement was expanded to 28 jets and then to 52 jets. The first CRJ-200 aircraft began operating in 1998. As Mesa began taking deliveries of the Embraer 145 aircraft in 2000, the CRJs were transferred to the America West division, separating the fleet types.
In 2003, 20 CRJ-200 aircraft were reintroduced to the US Airways Express division. With the reintroduction of the CRJ, the CRJ-200 aircraft operated out of the Philadelphia hub, and the ERJ-145 aircraft operated out of the Charlotte hub.
In 2005, Mesa's code share agreement with US Airways was not reaffirmed in bankruptcy court, and Mesa began transitioning the 59 regional jet aircraft to other code shares. Twenty-nine ERJ aircraft were transitioned to Freedom Airlines, and the CRJ and remaining ERJs were transferred to Mesa's United Express operation. [citation needed]
United Express
In 1990, Mesa acquired Aspen Airways Denver hub and routes, except for Aspen's Denver to Aspen route. It attempted to acquire Aspen's code share with United, however United was unwilling to code share with an airline that only operated 19-seat turboprops. Mesa leased Embraer-120 Brasilias from its former competitor in New Mexico, Air Midwest. With the Brasilias in hand, Mesa gained a code share with United for its Denver hub.
In 1995, California Pacific and its Los Angeles hub was merged into Mesa's United Express operation. After the closing of Superior Airlines Columbus hub, its aircraft and crews were used to expand United Express into Portland and Seattle. In 1997, operational difficulties with the Denver hub and disagreements over the renewal of Mesa's WestAir subsidiary code share with United resulted in the cancellation of Mesa's code share.
In 2003, Mesa renegotiated a code share agreement with United with a hub in Denver. As of March 2007, Mesa operates CRJ-200 and CRJ-700 aircraft from its Chicago and Washington Dulles hubs, and Dash-8 aircraft from its Denver hub. [citation needed]
Skyway Airlines
The Skyway Airlines division was Mesa's first foray into the Midwest. Skyway was formed in 1989 when Mesa established a code share agreement with Midwest Express and a Milwaukee hub. From Milwaukee, Mesa served 25 cities in nine states in the upper Midwest region, using Beechcraft 1900 aircraft. Upon expiration of the code share in 1994, it was not renewed. Midwest Express kept the Skyway Airlines name and routes, forming Astral Airways to fill the void as Mesa ceased service in Milwaukee. Mesa reallocated the aircraft and crews to start Superior Airways in its Columbus, Ohio hub for America West Express. [citation needed]
FloridaGulf Airlines
The FloridaGulf Airlines division was formed in 1991 after Mesa's acquisition of Air Midwest. Air Midwest's CEO, Robert Priddy, was chosen to start up the operation. It operated under a code share agreement with USAir and was a USAir Express carrier. It started with a Tampa hub, providing service to Florida and the southeast United States using Beechcraft 1900 aircraft. Additional hubs in Orlando and New Orleans were established. In 1993, the airline expanded into the Northeast, with a hub in Boston and eventually Philadelphia. In 1994, six Embraer-120 Braslia aircraft were added. By the time it was merged into Air Midwest, in 1997, it was operating 44 Beechcraft 1900 and 9 Embraer-120 aircraft serving 49 destinations. [citation needed]
Superior Airlines
After the Skyway Airlines division ceased operation, Mesa allocated the aircraft and crews and formed Superior Airlines in 1994 to provide service from a Columbus, Ohio hub for America West Express. When America West closed its Columbus hub in 2003, the aircraft and crews were reallocated to expand Mesa's United Express operations into Portland and Seattle.
CalPac (California Pacific)
Mesa created CalPac (California Pacific) in 1993, establishing a United Express carrier with a Los Angeles hub. It utilized Beechcraft 1900 and Embraer-120 aircraft to serve 12 destinations. In 1995, the airline division was merged into Mesa's United Express operation.
Liberty Express Airlines
In 1994, Mesa acquired Pittsburgh-based Crown Airways. Using the assets from Crown Airways, Mesa established Liberty Express with its hub in Pittsburgh and a code share with USAir. In 1997, it was merged into Air Midwest, operating 14 Beechcraft 1900 aircraft serving 17 destinations.
Desert Sun Airlines
The Desert Sun Airlines division was created in 1995 to inaugurate Mesa's first jet service utilizing Fokker F-70 aircraft. It operated as America West Express from a Phoenix hub. The first two cities to receive jet service were Spokane and Des Moines. In 1996, the division was merged into Mesa's America West Express operation, and the Fokker F-70 aircraft were replaced by Bombardier CRJ aircraft as they were introduced.
In 2006, Mesa formed go! in the Hawaiian islands, using five Bombardier CRJ aircraft from its Honolulu hub. It established a code share with Mokulele Airlines, which will serve airports that cannot accept jet aircraft and provide point-to-point service in between the islands.
Crew bases
- Charlotte, North Carolina (CRJ-900)
- Chicago, Illinois (CRJ-200/700)
- Denver, Colorado (DHC-8-100/Q200)
- Grand Junction, Colorado (DHC-8-100/Q200)
- Hilo, Hawaii (CRJ-200)
- Honolulu, Hawaii (CRJ-200)
- Houston, Texas (CRJ-900)
- Kahului, Hawaii (CRJ-200)
- Kona, Hawaii (CRJ-200)
- Lihue, Hawaii (CRJ-200)
- Orlando, Florida (ERJ-145)
- Phoenix, Arizona (DHC-8-100/Q200, CRJ-200/900)
- Nashville, Tennessee (CRJ-200/700)
- Washington, District of Columbia (CRJ-200/700, ERJ-145)
Fleet
As of January 2007 the Mesa Airlines fleet includes:
| Type | Number | Seats | Orders/ Options |
| Bombardier CRJ 900 | 38 | 86 | 3/1121 |
| Bombardier CRJ 700ER | 18 | 64 | 0/1121 |
| Bombardier CRJ 100/200 | 60 | 50 | 0/0 |
| Embraer ERJ-145LR | 6 | 50 | 0/64 |
| Bombardier Dash 8-200 | 16 | 37 | 0/0 |
17 firm orders and 112 total options for CRJ-700/900 aircraft. Freedom operates an additional 30 ERJ-145 regional jets and 10 Dash 8-100 turboprop aircraft.
The average Mesa Airlines fleet age is 5.8 years as of March 2006.
Incidents
On January 25, 2007, a Mesa Airlines CRJ-200LR with registration N17337 and operating as US Airways Express flight 2985 from Denver International Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport experienced an uncontained failure of its port engine approximate 50 nm (100 km) from Denver. The flight crew declared an emergency and were able to return to Denver without injury to passengers or crew. The incident is the first of its kind for the General Electric CF34-3B1 engine used on the CRJ.[2]
References
- ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
- ^ Croft, John (2007-01-29). "Picture: NTSB investigating first uncontained engine failure of GE CF34-3B1 on Mesa Airlines CRJ200LR Thursday". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 2007-01-30.
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- Graham, Rex (03-01-1987). "And the Winner Is ...". New Mexico Business Journal. 11 (3): 17.
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{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|format=requires|url=(help); Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Mesa Air Group (various). "1995-2005 Annual Reports".
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