United Airlines is to terminate its codeshare agreement with Mesa Airlines at Denver, Colorado, on 22 April, ending its relationship with US regional Mesa Air Group.
The move follows earlier decisions to end agreements under which Mesa subsidiary WestAir Commuter Airlines provides United Express services in California and the Pacific Northwest. Existing United Express carriers Air Wisconsin and Great Lakes are tipped to replace Mesa at Denver. SkyWest has already been selected to replace WestAir as United's US West Coast feeder.
United offered to extend Mesa a new six-month contract, but refused to extend the deadline for acceptance to allow Mesa to discuss the deal at a meeting of its new board on 2 February. The offer was therefore withdrawn. United Express operations account for 48% of the group's revenues, and involve 80 of its 186 aircraft.
Mesa has not decided how it will respond to United's decision, although it had already announced plans to discontinue WestAir operations. WestAir's workforce is trying to persuade Mesa to spin off the airline as a partially employee owned entity, and hopes that United will give back some of the markets in the western USA.
At the 2 February board meeting, Mesa founder Larry Risley resigned as chairman, to be replaced by Paul Madden, with James Swigart as vice-chairman.Swigart is a principal of Barlow Management, which recently acquired a 5.3% stake in Mesa. Risley will resign as chief executive when a replacement is named.
Source: Flight International
