Mesaba Airlines

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Mesaba Airlines
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
XJ MES MESABA
Founded1944 (1944)
(as Mesaba Aviation)
Parent company
HeadquartersEagan, Minnesota, United States[2]
Key peopleJohn Spanjers (President)

Mesaba Aviation, Inc. (operating as Mesaba Airlines) was a

Pinnacle Airlines
operating certificate. Mesaba's operating certificate was surrendered on July 31, 2012.

History

Mesaba (from the

Piper Cub purchased for $1,300, and it was used to shuttle employees of the Blandin Paper Mill Company from Grand Rapids, Minnesota to Minneapolis. In 1950 Newstrom moved the company to Grand Rapids.[6]

In 1973, the Halverson family of Duluth, Minnesota, bought Mesaba from Newstrom. Subsequently, they started regularly scheduled airline services serving Spencer, Iowa, Ely, Virginia, and Duluth.[6]

The Swenson family of Thief River Falls, Minnesota, purchased Mesaba Aviation in 1977. They took the company public in 1982[7] as the airline began flying to destinations in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota with Beechcraft 99 commuter turboprops.[6]

In 1983, Mesaba became a

codeshare partnership and began operations as a Northwest Airlink carrier on behalf of Northwest Airlines.[6]

Mesaba began feeder service from

Fairchild Metro turboprop aircraft in 1988. Maintenance bases were established both in Detroit and Wausau, Wisconsin. The same year, Mesaba managed to add an additional 325 employees. It also expanded its network to four new routes including Cleveland, Dayton and Akron in Ohio, and Erie, Pennsylvania.[6]

In 1991, Mesaba built two new hangar facilities, in Detroit and Wausau, Wisconsin, and added the first of 25

de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 turboprop aircraft, leased from Northwest Airlines.[6]

In 1995, Mesaba and Northwest reached an agreement to provide service with

Forbes placed Mesaba at number 41 on their list of Top 200 Small Companies in America.[6]

Growth into jet operations

Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport
on February 28, 2009.
A Mesaba-operated Avro RJ85 taxiing at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in 2003

The Northwest Airlines hub in Memphis was exclusively served by Airlink partner

Northwest Jetlink flights with the aircraft being configured with 16 first class seats and 53 coach seats. This marked the first time a regional airline had offered first class as well as a coach on a regional jet aircraft. Mesaba was split off at this time into Airways Corporation in order to address objections from mainline pilots flying for Northwest concerning Mesaba's operation of a jet fleet. Mesaba also became the first regional airline to have a first class seating option via the Avro RJ85 jet, with this British-built four-engine aircraft being approximately twice as large as the 50-passenger regional jets manufactured by Canadair and Embraer. Eventually, as Pinnacle transitioned to an Bombardier CRJ regional jet fleet, Mesaba took over Northwest Airlink Saab 340
turboprop operations.

In 2000, the company took delivery of its final Avro RJ85 jet, along with eleven new Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. This made Mesaba the operator of the largest fleet of Avro RJ85 aircraft in the world with 36 of the type, and the second-largest operator of the Saab 340.

After the

Canadair CRJ regional jets that would eventually replace the larger Avro jets.[citation needed
]

Bankruptcy

On September 14, 2005,

Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on October 13, 2005.[10]

In an interview in January 2006, Mesaba President John Spanjers announced that the Mesaba fleet would be cut in half by the end of the year. Twelve Avro RJ85 jets had already been removed from the fleet, and the balance would be grounded by the end of the year. Ten Saab 340 "B" model aircraft were returned to Pinnacle Airlines (from whom they were leased) during January 2006 while the three remaining "A" model Saab 340's and the two Bombardier CRJ regional jets that had been delivered to Mesaba prior to bankruptcy would leave the fleet before mid-year. These changes left Mesaba with a fleet of 49 Saab 340 turboprops.[citation needed]

On April 14, 2006, the company announced reductions of the Avro RJ85 fleet, at Northwest Airlines' direction. The RJ85 jets ceased flying out of Memphis on June 8, Minneapolis/St. Paul on October 31, and Detroit on December 4, 2006. Separately it was announced that one of the two 50-seat CRJ-200 regional jets operated by Mesaba would be transferred to Northwest in order to initiate flying operations (expected in late 2006) for newly formed Northwest Airlines subsidiary Compass Airlines.

By the end of October 2006, all three of the major unions representing the

pilots,[11] flight attendants,[12] and mechanics[13][dead link
] reached tentative agreements that still needed to be approved by the membership. On November 27, 2006, the three unions announced that their membership had ratified the new agreements.

In December 2006, Northwest Airlines planned to purchase Mesaba Airlines from owner MAIR Holdings and operate it as a wholly owned subsidiary. Tentative agreements concerning the sale were made; however, the merger could not have been approved without going through bankruptcy board proceedings and approvals of regulators and various interest groups. On April 24, 2007, Mesaba Airlines emerged from bankruptcy protection and was officially acquired by Northwest Airlines.[14]

With the merging of Northwest Airlines into Delta Air Lines, Mesaba underwent numerous changes as a subsidiary of the new company. A portion of the Saab 340 fleet was relocated to Atlanta. Delta also allocated five more Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jets to Mesaba to be operated out of Delta's Salt Lake City hub. In 2009, several routes were added, utilizing the new CRJ-900s and the existing Saab 340 aircraft.

Fined for not deplaning passengers

Main article:
2009 Rochester, Minn. airport tarmac stranding incident

On November 24, 2009, Mesaba was one of three airlines, including

US$75,000, 50% more than the fine for Continental and ExpressJet.[15]
It was the first fine ever from the DOT for misconduct related to passengers' being held in planes on the tarmac for an extended time.

When the ExpressJet flight was diverted to Rochester due to bad weather in

reneged, stating that there were no TSA personnel in the terminal. The DOT stated that the rules for such circumstances allow passengers to be deplaned and kept in a secure area, even when there are no TSA personnel available. The DOT ruled that the actions by Mesaba personnel constituted an "unfair and deceptive practice" because they had agreed to deplane the passengers. Continental and ExpressJet were fined because they did not follow their own internal procedures and passenger commitments, and were ultimately responsible for the passengers' welfare.[15]

Since the incident, the ramp personnel in Rochester along with other ground stations handled by Mesaba,

Regional Elite Airline Services
(REAS).

Sale to Pinnacle

On July 1, 2010,

Bombardier Q400s. In time, all aircraft and personnel were transferred to Pinnacle Airlines.[2][dead link][17][dead link
]

In 2011, Mesaba Airlines began operating flights out of New York City's LaGuardia Airport for US Airways under the US Airways Express brand. This codeshare service utilized Saab 340 aircraft and replaced the service that was being operated by Colgan Air.

Ultimately Colgan's

code sharing basis on behalf of United Airlines
, before the transition from Colgan to Mesaba took place.

On January 4, 2012, Mesaba was folded into Pinnacle Airlines. Mesaba's operating certificate was surrendered on July 31, 2012. Mesaba Airlines ended operations as one of the world's safest air carriers with no fatalities recorded during its 68 years of operations.

Awards

In early 1998, in recognition of the successful introduction of two new airliner types to the fleet (the Saab 340 and the Avro RJ85) while maintaining excellent operating performance, Mesaba Airlines was presented with the Air Transport World (ATW) "Regional Airline of the Year for 1997" award. Saab AB painted two new Saab 340 aircraft in special commemorative liveries celebrating both the award and Mesaba's 25th anniversary of scheduled airline service.

On August 31, 2005, Mesaba Airlines was named the winner of the 2005 Operational Excellence Award by

AIG Aviation, a U.S. based underwriter of aviation insurance. The award has been presented only four times since its creation in 1998 and recognizes clients that exhibit a strong commitment to building quality safety and loss prevention programs. Mesaba was the unanimous selection out of an entry pool of more than 650 companies.[18]

Destinations

Over the years, Mesaba grew to operate a fleet of

code sharing
flights primarily to small-to-medium-sized cities on behalf of its major airline partners.

Mesaba began operating as

Nantucket, MA
with both of these destinations being served on a seasonal basis.

Destinations in 1981

Mesaba was a small independent commuter air carrier at this time in June 1981 operating

Grand Rapids, MN.[19]

Destinations in 1986

Mesaba was operating

code sharing flights in June 1986 for Northwest Airlines (which was operating as Northwest Orient at this time) with 19-passenger Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner ("Metro III" model) and 48-passenger Fokker F27 turboprops serving the following destinations:[20]

  • Aberdeen, SD
  • Bemidji, MN
  • Brainerd, MN
  • Brookings, SD
  • Cedar Rapids, IA
  • Des Moines, IA
  • Devils Lake, ND
  • Duluth, MN
  • Grand Rapids, MN
  • Hibbing, MN
  • Huron, SD
  • Jamestown, ND
  • St. Paul, MN
    - Hub
  • Moline, IL
  • Mitchell, SD
  • Pierre, SD
  • Rapid City, SD
  • Rochester, MN
  • Sioux Falls, SD
  • Thief River Falls, MN
  • Stevens Point, WI

Destinations served in 1999 from the Northwest Airlines hub in Minneapolis/St. Paul

Those destinations noted in bold were served in May 1999 by Mesaba with a

Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) with Northwest Airlink code share service from MSP to other destinations being operated by Mesaba with Saab 340 turboprop aircraft at this time:[21]

According to the

Saginaw, MI in addition to the above destinations listed in bold.[22]

Destinations served in 1999 from the Northwest Airlines hub in Memphis

In May 1999, Mesaba was operating all of its Northwest Airlines

code sharing flights from the Northwest hub located at the Memphis International Airport (MEM) with Avro RJ85 jet aircraft with these Northwest Jetlink destinations noted in bold:[21]

  • Atlanta, GA
  • Cincinnati, OH
  • Fort Worth, TX
  • Fayetteville, AR
  • Huntsville, AL
  • Knoxville, TN
  • Memphis, TN
     - Hub
  • St. Louis, MO
  • Wichita, KS

Another regional air carrier,

Express Airlines I, was also operating code sharing flights at this time from Memphis for Northwest utilizing turboprop aircraft for its Northwest Airlink service.[23][dead link
]

According to the

Durham, NC.[24]

Destinations served in 1999 from the Northwest Airlines hub in Detroit

Those destinations noted in bold were served in May 1999 by Mesaba with

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) with Northwest Airlink code share service from DTW to other destinations being operated by Mesaba with Saab 340 turboprop aircraft as this time:[21]

According to the

Traverse City, MI in addition to the destinations listed above in bold.[25]

Fleet

The Mesaba Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft (as of September 7, 2011):[26][dead link]

Aircraft Total Options Passengers Notes
F Y Total
Bombardier CRJ-200 19 — 0 50 50
Bombardier CRJ-900 41 29 12 64 76

Retired

Aircraft Year Retired Notes Replacement
Fokker F27 Scrapped Dash 8-100
Beechcraft Model 99 Metroliner
Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner (Metro III model) 1997 Converted to freighters or operated in the Bahamas Saab 340
de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 1998 Sold to Piedmont Airlines Saab 340
Saab 340 2011[27] Bombardier CRJ-200
Avro RJ85 2006 Operated as
Cityjet (Dublin, Ireland
) 		Bombardier CRJ-900

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0-9653993-8-9. Archived from the original
    on 2016-11-28.
  2. ^ a b http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/oct/24/pinnacle-airlines-move-mesaba-headquarters-memphis/?partner=yahoo_feeds [bare URL]
  3. ^ "Mesaba Airlines - General Office". Archived from the original on April 24, 2009. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
  4. ^ Upham, Warren (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: This Origin and Historical Significance in Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 486 and 504.
  5. ISBN 0-8166-2427-5
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "History of Mesaba Holdings, Inc". Funding Universe. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  7. ^ Cohen, Ben (October 28, 2008). "Lowell Swenson acquired Arctic Enterprises". Star Tribune. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  8. ^ "Examining Minnesota's Economy After September 11th: Strategies for Workforce and Business Recovery". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  9. CNN Money
    . Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  10. ^ "Mesaba follows Northwest Airlines into bankruptcy". Minnesota Public Radio. October 13, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  11. ^ "wcco.com - Mesaba Airlines Reaches Tentative Agreement". 2006-10-29. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  12. ^ "Mesaba flight attendants reach deal". MPR News. 2006-10-30. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  13. ^ Mesaba Aviation Mechanics Agree To Accept Wage Cuts (Detroit Free Press: November 1, 2006)
  14. ^ "Northwest Airlines Acquires Mesaba Airlines". April 24, 2007. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012.
  15. ^
    Dallas News
    . Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  16. ^ Drum, Bruce (July 1, 2010). "Delta agrees to sell Mesaba Airlines to Pinnacle Airlines". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
  17. ^ http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/338016/ [dead link]
  18. Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
    : September 1, 2005
  19. ^ "Mesaba Airlines June 12, 1981 Route Map". www.departedflights.com. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  20. ^ "Northwest Airlines History Center WELCOME - Northwest Airlines History Center". Retrieved 2023-12-06.
  21. ^ a b c "Northwest Airlink May 1999 Route Maps". www.departedflights.com. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021.
  22. ^ Oct. 1, 1999 OAG North America Pocket Flight Guide, Minneapolis/St. Paul flight schedules
  23. ^ https://www.departedfligthts.com/NWairlink0599.html
  24. ^ Oct. 1, 1999 OAG North America Pocket Flight Guide, Memphis flight schedules
  25. ^ Oct. 1, 1999 OAG North America Pocket Flight Guide, Detroit flight schedules
  26. ^ Mesaba Airlines fleet list at ch-aviation.ch. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  27. ^ "Mesaba Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  28. ^ OAG Flight Guide Supplement, January–March 2006, Aircraft seating plans, Northwest Airlines ARJ (Avro Regional Jet) seat map

External links

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