Mesa Airlines
Encyclopedia
Mesa Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline
Regional airline
Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...

 based in Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. It is a FAA Part 121
Transport category
Transport category is a category of airworthiness applicable to large civil airplanes and large civil helicopters. Any aircraft's airworthiness category is shown on its airworthiness certificate...

 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 100 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines, and five supporting...

. It was known briefly as Mountain West Airlines from 1995 to 1996. It operates flights as United Express
United Express
United Express is a brand name under which eight regional airlines operate feeder flights for United Airlines. They primarily connect smaller cities with United's domestic hub airports and “focus cities,” although they offer some point-to-point service such as Sacramento to Eureka.As of Sept...

, US Airways Express
US Airways Express
US Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certified airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted from...

, and under the brand go! Mokulele
Go! (airline)
Go! , based in Honolulu is a regional brand of Phoenix, Arizona based Mesa Airlines. Go! operates inter island services within Hawaii. Its main base is Honolulu International Airport...

 for flights within the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

. It serves more than 180 markets in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...

. Mesa's safety record was noted as having the fewest incidents among domestic regional airlines in the Journal of Air Transportation.
In March 2011, Mesa emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Mesa filed for Chapter 11 in January 10, hoping to shed financial obligations for leases on airplanes it no longer needs. The time that Mesa spent in bankruptcy was one of the shortest time periods in aviation history.

Airline operations

Mesa Airlines operates as:
  • US Airways Express is a mainline
    Mainline (flight)
    A mainline flight is a flight operated by an airline's main operating unit, rather than by regional alliances, regional code-shares or regional subsidiaries...

     airline marketing sub-brand using a separately liveried fleet of Bombardier CRJ200
    Bombardier CRJ200
    The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 are a family of regional airliner manufactured by Bombardier, and based on the Canadair Challenger business jet.-Development:...

    , CRJ900
    Bombardier CRJ700
    The Bombardier CRJ700, CRJ900, and CRJ1000 are regional airliners based on the Bombardier CRJ200. Final assembly of the aircraft is at Montréal-Mirabel International Airport in Mirabel, Quebec, outside Montreal, Canada.-Development:...

    , and Dash 8 aircraft under a revenue-guarantee code sharing agreement. Its hubs are in Phoenix
    Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
    Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport located southeast of the central business district of the city of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States...

     and Charlotte
    Charlotte/Douglas International Airport
    Charlotte Douglas International Airport is a joint civil-military public international airport located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Established in 1935 as Charlotte Municipal Airport, in 1954 the airport was renamed Douglas Municipal Airport after former Charlotte mayor Ben Elbert Douglas, Sr...

    .
  • United Express is a mainline airline marketing sub-brand using a separately liveried fleet of Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft under a revenue-guarantee code sharing agreement. Its hubs are Washington Dulles
    Washington Dulles International Airport
    Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...

     and Chicago O'Hare
    O'Hare International Airport
    Chicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...

    .
  • go! Mokulele is a brand using a separately liveried fleet of Bombardier CRJ200 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
    Skyway Airlines
    Skyway Airlines is an American ramp and aircraft ground handling services and catering company based in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. Until April 5, 2008, it operated as a regional airline under the business name Midwest Connect, feeding Midwest Airlines's hub at General Mitchell International Airport with...

     (1989–1994)
  • Superior Airlines (1994–1995)
  • Air Midwest
    Air Midwest
    Air Midwest, Inc., was a Federal Aviation Administration Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number AMWA510A issued on May 15, 1965. It was headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, United States, and was a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It operated flights as US...

     (1991–2008)

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
Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 100 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines, and five supporting...

. 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 October 2006, only its America West Express
America West Express
America West Express was the name for America West Airlines commuter and regional flights operated by Mesa Air Group's Mesa Airlines under a code share agreement...

 and United Express operations remain in service.

Independent

The original Mesa Airlines operation was founded by Larry and Jane Risley of Farmington
Farmington, New Mexico
Farmington is a city in San Juan County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 U.S. Census the city had a total population of 45,877 people. Farmington makes up one of the four Metropolitan Statistical Areas in New Mexico. The U.S...

, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, 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 Airlines
America West Airlines
America West Airlines corporate offices were in Tempe, Arizona and the main hub was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The airline became part of the US Airways Group after a merger in 2005....

, its Phoenix hub was turned over to the America West Express division.

In 1997, Mesa established a hub at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
Fort Worth Meacham International Airport
Fort Worth Meacham International Airport is an airport in Fort Worth, Texas. The airport is located at the intersection of Interstate 820 and U.S. Business Highway 287 in northwest Fort Worth, near the downtown business district...

, using two Bombardier CRJ aircraft, providing service from Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

 to San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, Houston Hobby
William P. Hobby Airport
William P. Hobby Airport is a public airport in Houston, Texas, located from Downtown Houston. The airport covers and has four runways. Hobby Airport is Houston's oldest commercial airport and was the city's primary air terminal until the opening of Houston Intercontinental Airport in 1969...

, and Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...

. The venture was short-lived and the hub was eliminated during corporate restructuring. The Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

 hub was merged into Air Midwest.

In the late 1990s Mesa still had its headquarters in Farmington.

America West Express

In September 1992, Mesa negotiated a code sharing agreement with America West Airlines 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 70 aircraft were replaced by Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft. The CRJ200 aircraft also began replacing the Beechcraft 1900
Beechcraft 1900
The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop airplane manufactured by the Beechcraft Division of the Raytheon Company . It was designed, and is primarily used, as a regional airliner...

 as the 1900s were transitioned over to Mesa's Air Midwest subsidiary. Beginning in December 1997, Mesa began operating Bombardier Dash 8-200 aircraft between Phoenix and Grand Junction
Grand Junction, Colorado
The City of Grand Junction is the largest city in western Colorado. It is a city with a council–manager government form that is the county seat and the most populous city of Mesa County, Colorado, United States. Grand Junction is situated west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. As...

. In 2003, Mesa Airlines took over the operations of Freedom Airlines and Freedom Airlines' CRJ900s were transferred into the America West Express operation.

On September 16, 2005, America West Airlines and US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....

 completed their merger. Although the companies merged, as of May 2008, 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 CRJ200 and CRJ900 aircraft from hubs in Charlotte and Phoenix, and Dash 8 aircraft from its Phoenix hub.

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 hubs. In 1998 and 2000, the agreement was expanded to 28 jets and then to 52 jets. The first CRJ200 aircraft began operating in 1998. As Mesa began taking deliveries of the Embraer ERJ 145
Embraer ERJ 145 family
The Embraer ERJ 145 family is a series of regional jets produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace company. Family members include the ERJ 135 , ERJ 140 , and ERJ 145 , as well as the Legacy business jet and the R-99 family of military aircraft. The ERJ 145 is the largest of the group...

 aircraft in 2000, the CRJs were transferred to the America West division, separating the fleet types.

In 2003, 20 CRJ200 aircraft were reintroduced to the US Airways Express division. With the reintroduction of the CRJ, the CRJ200 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 aircraft to other code shares. Twenty-six ERJ aircraft were transitioned to Freedom Airlines, and the CRJ and remaining ERJs were transferred to Mesa's United Express operation. However, following the America West Airlines merger later that year, the Mesa contract for America West Express was retained and expanded to include non-former America West Express routes.

United Express

In 1990, Mesa acquired Aspen Airways
Aspen Airways
Aspen Airways was a former airline carrier and regional affiliate of United Express and based in Hangar 5 in Stapleton International Airport in Denver, Colorado...

 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 EMB 120 Brasilia
Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia
-Accidents:*Brazilian Air Force on July 8, 1988 an Embraer EMB 120RT Brasília registration FAB-2001 crashed during and engine-out landing at São José dos Campos. Five of the 9 occupants died....

 aircraft 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
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...

 hub, its aircraft and crews were used to expand United Express into Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

 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 agreed to a service agreement with United for service out of their hubs at Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, and Washington-Dulles under the United Express banner. In October 2009 United decided to exercise its early termination option for the Dash 8 flying. The Dash 8 flying ended on April 30, 2010. Around the same time, United decided not to extend its CRJ200 operation and as a result, all of the Mesa CRJ200s (26 aircraft) flying under United Express were phased out by April 30, 2010.

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 Airlines in its Columbus hub for America West Express.

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 US Airways and was a US Airways Express carrier. It started with a Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...

 hub, providing service to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

 and the southeast United States using Beechcraft 1900 aircraft. Additional hubs in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

 and New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 were established. In 1993, the airline expanded into the Northeast, with a hub in Boston and eventually Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

. In 1994, six Embraer EMB 120 aircraft were added. By the time it was merged into Air Midwest, in 1997, it was operating 44 Beechcraft 1900 and 9 Embraer EMB 120 aircraft serving 49 destinations.

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 hub for America West Express. By 2000 the aircraft and crews, which consisted of CRJ200s (CL-65s), were being operated by Mesa Airlines itself. America West Airlines closed its Columbus hub in 2003 and Mesa again reallocated the assets this time to its newly reacquired United Express operation.

CalPac (California Pacific)

Mesa created CalPac (California Pacific) in 1993, establishing a United Express carrier with a Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

 hub. It utilized Beechcraft 1900 and Embraer EMB 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 acquired assets, Mesa established Liberty Express with its hub in Pittsburgh and a code share with US Airways. 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 70 aircraft. It operated as America West Express from a Phoenix hub. The first two cities to receive jet service were Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...

 and Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

. In 1996, the division was merged into Mesa's America West Express operation, and the Fokker 70 aircraft were replaced by Bombardier CRJ aircraft as they were introduced.

go!

In 2006, Mesa formed go! in the Hawaiian Islands, using 5 Bombardier CRJ aircraft from its Honolulu hub. It established a code share with Mokulele Airlines
Mokulele Airlines
Mokulele Airlines, is an American commuter airline headquartered in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii. The airline operates scheduled inter-island and charter flights primarily among Hawaii's smaller airports.-History:...

, which will serve airports that cannot accept jet aircraft and provide point-to-point service in between the islands with Cessna Caravan
Cessna 208
The Cessna 208 Caravan is a single turboprop engine, fixed-gear short-haul regional airliner and utility aircraft built in the United States by Cessna. The airplane typically seats nine passengers, with a single person crew, although with a FAR Part 23 waiver, it can seat up to fourteen passengers...

 turboprops. They currently operate 5 CRJ's in Hawaii.

Mesa's go! has been involved in multiple lawsuits with Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a major airline of the United States. It is the largest airline based in the State of Hawai'i, and is the 11th largest commercial airline in the country. Based in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, the airline operates its main hub at Honolulu International...

 and Aloha Airlines
Aloha Airlines
Aloha Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from a hub at Honolulu International Airport...

 and was also investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...

 for an incident on February 13, 2008 where both pilots fell asleep during a regularly scheduled 36 minute flight between Honolulu and Hilo. go!'s flight 1002 overshot Hilo Airport by 15 miles (24.1 km), remaining 21000 feet (6,400.8 m) in the air as they missed the destination. Air traffic controllers were unable to reach the two pilots for 25 minutes, after which contact was re-established and the aircraft returned for a safe landing in Hilo.

Mesa's go! was also blamed for the March 31, 2008 shutdown of Aloha Airlines due to predatory fares.

Kunpeng Airlines

Kunpeng Airlines
Kunpeng Airlines
Henan Airlines - History :The agreement to form Kunpeng Airlines was signed in December 2006, and service began in October 2007. Kunpeng operated both passenger and cargo service as well as charter flights. The airline originally flew Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft which were leased from Mesa Air Group...

 was formed as a joint venture between Mesa Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines
Shenzhen Airlines
Shenzhen Airlines is a domestic and international airlines headquartered in Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in Bao'an District, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People's Republic of China....

 of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. They began flying in October 2007 with 3 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft and currently have 5 in China. The airline originally expected to operate 20 CRJ's prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 and plan to expand at a rate of 20 aircraft per year for the next 5 years. All pilots would have been based in Beijing or Xian and the airline initially was to fly to 16 regional airports. Mesa intended to replace the outgoing CRJ200s with larger regional jets such as the CRJ700 and CRJ900. Kunpeng has recently decided to delay delivery of CRJ200 in favor of brand new Embraer E-190
Embraer E-Jets
The Embraer E-Jets are a series of narrow-body, twin-engine, medium-range, jet airliners produced by Embraer, a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft. Announced at the Paris Air Show in 1999, and entering production in 2002, the aircraft series...

. All of the Mesa aircraft are being returned.

Furthermore, as of June 2009, Mesa no longer has a financial interest in Kunpeng Airlines, as Shenzhen Airlines purchased Mesa's interest in the original joint venture.

Crew Bases

  • Charlotte (CRJ900) - US Airways Express
  • Chicago (CRJ700) - United Express
  • Honolulu, Hawaii (CRJ200) - go!
  • Phoenix (DHC8-200), CRJ200/900) - US Airways Express
  • Washington Dulles (CRJ700) - United Express

Fleet

As of May 2010, the Mesa Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft:
Aircraft Total Orders Options
Option (aircraft purchasing)
An option, when purchasing aircraft, allows an airline to purchase additional aircraft in the future at an agreed price and date.When placing orders for new aircraft, airlines commonly obtain options from the aircraft manufacturer, for example Airbus or Boeing...

Passengers Notes
Bombardier CRJ100/200
Bombardier CRJ200
The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 are a family of regional airliner manufactured by Bombardier, and based on the Canadair Challenger business jet.-Development:...

16 0 112 50 10 operated as US Airways Express
6 operated by go!
Bombardier CRJ700 20 0 66 operated as United Express
Bombardier CRJ900 38 0 86 operated as US Airways Express
Bombardier Dash 8-200  6 0 0 37 operated as US Airways Express
Total 80 0 112



As of May 2010, Mesa no longer operates any CRJ200 or Dash 8 aircraft under the United Express banner.

[SkyWest Airlines] will soon replace Mesa's flying of Dash-8 and CRJ-200 for [US Ariways Express].

Incidents

On October 16, 2001, an EMB 145 was on final approach to Roanoke, Virginia. The captain had briefed a "no go-around" for a night visual approach to a "Special Airport." The approach was not stabilized, and the airspeed decreased to the point of a stall. The airplane struck the runway in a nose high pitch attitude, the aft fuselage struck the runway first then settled on the landing gear. The first officer made initial callouts of slow airspeed and then stopped when the captain failed to respond to her callouts. After landing, the airplane was taxied to the gate where a post flight inspection limited to the main landing gear did not find the damage to the tail section. The incident was not reported by either pilots to the Company and the airplane was allowed to be flown by the next crew the following morning on its scheduled service back to Charlotte, NC where a post flight inspection revealed the tail strike. When interviewed, the captain first denied having been involve in a hard landing and speculated that the tail strike must have been the result of an over rotation on takeoff from the morning crew. When faced with the CVR and FDR data, she eventually admitted to the incident. She reported that she briefed "no go-around" because no takeoffs were authorized on the runway at night or in IMC conditions; however, the first officer knew this was incorrect, but did not challenge the captain. Both pilots had received CRM training, which included crewmember assertiveness, methods of fostering crew input, and situational awareness, and training on special use airports; however it was not followed by either pilot. The captain said the first officer was passive and quiet. The first officer reported the captain was defensive and did not take criticism very well. It is remarkable that the damage to the tail section was not discovered during the preflight visual inspection performed by the morning flight or ground crews. The aircraft had an MELed APU and needed the engines to be started with the assistance of an external air cart. The connection for the air cart is located at the aft bottom fuselage section where the damages were visible. The access panel was in fact bent. Yet the ground crew did not notify the flight deck crew. When the walk around visual inspection was performed by the morning crew's first officer, it was performed during the hours of darkness with the help of a flashlight. The air cart was already connected and forced the first officer to walk around the cart and away from the aircraft, missing the tail strike damages.

On August 9, 2002, an alcohol smell was noted by security screeners at the Little Rock National Airport
Little Rock National Airport
Little Rock National Airport , officially Little Rock National Airport/Adams Field, is located 2 miles east of the central business district of Little Rock, a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. It is Arkansas' largest commercial service airport, serving more than 2.1 million...

on a Mesa Airlines Captain as he arrived to pilot his Embraer ERJ 145LR. The pilot was fired by the airline. A flight attendant and first officer were also suspended pending investigation at the time of the incident.

On February 13, 2008, the pilots of a go! CRJ200 fell asleep and overshot their destination airport by 26 nautical miles (48.2 km) before Air Traffic Control was able to make contact with the aircraft. The incident happened on the third consecutive day during which the pilots had been required to start duty at 0540 am. The captain suffered from an undiagnosed severe sleep apnea. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident as follows: "The captain and first officer inadvertently falling asleep during the cruise phase of flight. Contributing to the incident were the captain's undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea and the flight crew’s recent work schedules, which included several consecutive days of early-morning start times."

External links

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