Mesa Air Group has signed a codesharing deal for its Freedom Airlines unit to feed Delta Air Lines flights, starting as soon as October. It will operate up to 30 of Mesa's CRJ200s within Delta's network for 12 years.
The deal fills a gap in the Delta Connection network that was left when Atlantic Coast Airlines ended its Delta partnership in a bid to become low-cost regional Independence Air. Mesa, which also flies for America West, United and US Airways, formed Freedom in 2002 to fly CRJ900s on its America West Express services.
The Delta pact gives Mesa a location for jets that could be displaced from US Airways contract flying in recent deals between US Airways and both Air Wisconsin and Republic Airways, says Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg.
But he says the Delta pact covers only the 23 50-seater CRJs that Mesa now flies for US Airways and not the 36 Embraer ERJ-145s it flies for the bankrupt major and might have to place elsewhere if US Airways ends its Mesa contracts.
DAVID FIELD/WASHINGTON DC
Source: Flight International
