Republic Airways Holdings and Mesa Air Group, parent companies of Republic Airways (YX, Indianapolis International) and Mesa Airlines (YV, Phoenix Sky Harbor), announced that they had entered into a definitive agreement to merge and create a single regional airline company under the name Republic Airways Holdings.
The proposed transaction, which is expected to close in the late third or early fourth quarter of 2025 and is subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, will result in the combined company continuing to serve key partners, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines, with a combined single fleet of approximately 310 E170 and E175 aircraft.
Republic's shareholders will own 88% of the combined company’s common shares, while Mesa's shareholders will own between 6% and 12%. The latter group's outstanding debt obligations will be extinguished.
At the end of the second quarter of 2024, Mesa Air Group held USD366.4 million in total debt, with only USD16.3 million in unrestricted cash. The company has not yet released its 2024 full-year financial results and has been warned by the Nasdaq Stock Market regarding non-compliance with listing rules.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows Mesa Airlines operates a fleet of 107 aircraft, namely forty-six CRJ900s, all of them currently inactive, sixty E175s, and one Learjet 60XR. Republic Airways operates 209 aircraft - thirty-one E170s and 178 E175s. Mesa Airlines had previously announced its intention of sell its CRJ fleet to move towards an all-Embraer fleet flying for United Airlines (in recent years, Mesa has lost its American capacity purchase agreement and exited the cargo market).
The proposed merged company will maintain a single fleet, operating over 1,250 daily departures. Mesa and Republic will continue to fly under their existing US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) operating certificates until securing a single operating certificate for the combined airline. According to a joint press release, the parties do not expect to offload personnel after the merger.
Republic Airways Holdings is expected to remain Nasdaq-listed under the new ticker symbol RJET.
The combined company will be led by Republic's executive leadership team. The board of directors will be comprised of six existing directors from the Republic board and one independent director from the Mesa board.
Republic Airways flies to more than 80 cities in North America, the Caribbean, and Central America under the brands American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express. Mesa Airlines serves 89 cities in the United States, Bahamas, Canada, Cuba, and Mexico, flying exclusively for the United Express brand, for which it recently signed a 10-year new capacity purchase agreement.
