Opinion on  Mesa Air Group Inc. (MESA)     Sector: Transportation  >  Industry: Airline
Bullish on MESA ...

Mesa Air Group, Inc. (Mesa) is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries operate as regional air carriers providing scheduled passenger and airfreight service. During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008 (fiscal 2008), the Company served 124 cities in 38 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and Mexico and operated a fleet of 159 aircraft with approximately 800 daily departures. Approximately 96% of the Company's consolidated passenger revenues for fiscal 2008 were derived from operations associated with code-share agreements The Company had various fleet plans, such as CRJ Program, CRJ Program, Beechcraft 1900D, and Dash-8. The Company has many wholly owned subsidiaries: Mesa Airlines, Inc.; Freedom Airlines, Inc.; Air Midwest, Inc. Air Midwest, LLC,; MPD, Inc., doing business as Mesa Pilot Development; Regional Aircraft Services, Inc; Mesa Air Group - Airline Inventory Management, LLC; Ritz Hotel Management Corp.; Mesa Air New York, Inc; Nilchii, Inc; MAGI Insurance, Ltd., and Ping Shan SRL.

CRJ Program

During fiscal 2008, the Company operated 109 Canadair Regional Jets (44 CRJ- 200/100, 20 CRJ-700 and 45 CRJ-900's). The Company had purchased 20 CRJ-00 aircraft and also have taken the delivery of 13 CRJ-900 and five CRJ-700 aircraft. During fiscal 2008, CRJ-900 agreement contributed 3.1% to the revenue.

ERJ Program

During fiscal 2008, the Company operated 34 ERJ-145 aircraft and subleased two ERJ-145 to a third party. The Company had acquired 36 ERJ-145s from Empresa Brasiliera de Aeronautica S.A. (Embraer).

Beechcraft 1900D

During fiscal 2008, the Company owned 20 Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. On May 16, 2008, the Company sold all 14 of its previously leased Beechcraft 1900D aircraft. All 14 were sold to Raytheon Aircraft Company.

Dash-8

During fiscal 2008, the Company had 16 Dash-8 aircraft in operation: 6 with US Airways Express and 10 with United Express. The Company leases all 16 Dash-8 aircraft with four of the leases ending in 2009 and the remaining 12 ending in 2013.