Mesa Air Group has sold eleven surplus CRJ900s to an undisclosed and unrelated entity, and is nearing a deal with United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) which could see 38 aircraft of the type placed under an expanded Capacity Purchase Agreement with the airline.
The Mesa Airlines (YV, Phoenix Sky Harbor) parent is also finalising the previously announced sale of its remaining CRJ550s to United. The type is a proprietary conversion of the CRJ700 and is operated exclusively by United.
"Once completed, the proceeds of these two transactions will significantly reduce debt and improve liquidity. Further, Mesa is pursuing other avenues to increase liquidity through the sale of additional surplus aircraft, spare parts, and spare engines. Additionally, Mesa recently negotiated improved terms and conditions with RASPRO, a Canadian special purpose finance company, on its leases for fifteen CRJ900 aircraft, and is finalising an agreement with the Economic Development Corporation of Canada, and MHI RJ Aviation on debt associated with seven CRJ900 aircraft," Mesa Airlines said.
The airline recently deferred the publication of its full-year results but lost USD67 million in the nine months through June 30, 2022.
The regional capacity provider is reorienting its business following an agreement to wind down all CPA operations for American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) by April 3, 2023. While both carriers said the agreement was reached consensually, they offered conflicting explanations as to the reasons. While Mesa Airlines says its CPA with American Airlines was unprofitable due to the mainline airline's unwillingness to increase compensation due to rising pilot labour costs, AA cited severe reliability issues on the part of Mesa Airlines.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows that Mesa Airlines currently operates all of its sixty-four CRJ900s under the American Eagle brand. The carrier said it is in advanced negotiations to place up to thirty-eight CRJ900s under a new five-year CPA deal with United Airlines. Once finalised, the agreement will preserve all of the carrier's existing CRJ900 bases at Phoenix Sky Harbor, Dallas/Fort Worth, El Paso, and Louisville International, and add new ones at Denver International and Houston Intercontinental.
Mesa Airlines currently operates eighty E175s for United. It said that the exact number of CRJ900s placed under the United Express partnership would depend on the evolution of its E175 operations.
