Troubled US regional airline operator Mesa Air Group is coming under fire from investors for its year-old agreement to distribute the Sino Swearingen Aircraft (SSAC)SJ30-2 business jet.
Wholly owned subsidiary Four Corners Aviation (FCA), a fixed-base operator located at Mesa's Farmington, New Mexico, headquarters, signed the distributorship agreement in January 1997. The deal commits FCA to buying a minimum number of SJ30s a year. So far, the company has agreed to buy eight aircraft, representing a $28 million commitment on which FCA has already made progress payments of $600,000.
Mesa is facing financial difficulties after United Airlines terminated its contracts to provide regional service, leading investors to question the value of its SJ30 distributorship deal. Mesa board director Jack Braly is president of SSAC, a post he assumed in August 1996. San Antonio, Texas-based SSAC declines to comment on its agreement with Mesa.
SSAC has so far signed agreements with six distributors in the USA and seven internationally, and says that it has orders for some 90 SJ30s to date.
CSE Aviation has become SSAC's first UK distributorship with an order for six aircraft. The company will take delivery of the $3.5 million SJ30-2s following certification, now scheduled for the end of 1999.
Source: Flight International
