As part of its uphill battle to regain its reputation and its financial feet, US regional Mesa Airlines unveiled a new livery in mid October, as well as a new corporate logo for the carrier's parent company, the Mesa Air Group.
Jonathan Ornstein, who took over as president and chief executive earlier this year, describes the new look as a "very visible sign of change". That message of change is aimed at a wide audience. "We are trying to send a message to the public, to the industry and to the employees that things have changed at Mesa Airlines," adds Ornstein.
The new livery will be put on Mesa's Beech 1900Ds that operate from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Unlike many of Mesa's operations, these aircraft are flown under the Mesa name. Mesa Air Group has also moved its headquarters from Farmington, New Mexico, to Phoenix, Arizona.
Mesa posted a $49 million loss in 1997 and saw operating costs almost double to $200 million. This year the turmoil has continued, with the company losing one of its most important codeshare contracts - a deal with United Airlines that allowed it to operate as United Express.
Ornstein and an almost totally new management team were brought in to reshape the company, and Ornstein says the team's strategies are beginning to work. Mesa has renewed its deal with America West to provide codeshare flights out of Phoenix and has eliminated some 50 aircraft from its fleet - although it continues to rank as one of the world's largest regional operations. "From an operational standpoint, I think the company has made a huge step forward," says Ornstein. "There is a realisation across the company that, in order to survive, we have to do things differently."
Completion rates on all operations, including on-time performance, edged up to a 98% success rate in September, compared with 93% earlier in the year. Ornstein also says that the company's relationship with the US Federal Aviation Administration is improving. Under the previous management, the FAA fined Mesa $500,000 for maintenance and training shortcomings and the airline has been under close scrutiny since. But Ornstein says the FAA recognises that the new management team is bringing about the changes that were required, including the creation of a more centralised management structure. "For one thing, we have come down from six presidents to one," he says.
But the company's financial position, which Ornstein describes as a "disaster", will take longer to address. "I think things have improved somewhat," he says. "In September we were cashflow positive, which is a big deal. We will return to profitability eventually, but first we had to stop the bleeding and I think we are on track there."
Ornstein intends to continue adding Bombardier Canadair Regional Jets to Mesa's fleet to replace 1900s and Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8s. Another 16 CRJs are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 1999 and the company has options on 16 more, which Ornstein says he expects to exercise. They will be split equally between America West Express and US Airways Express operations. Even with US Airways' pilots restrictive scope clause, Ornstein believes there will be sufficient leeway to keep adding regional jets to the fleet.
Source: Airline Business
