Mesa Air Group Pilots Demand Operational Improvements and Express Lack of Confidence in Management

PHOENIX, Nov. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Faced with slowing growth and rapidly- mounting operational problems, pilots at Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, Inc., have overwhelmingly voiced their lack of confidence in the company's management team. Mesa Air Group is a codeshare partner with US Airways, United, Delta and Midwest Airlines.

"As Mesa expanded over the past three years, our management passed off our operational problems -- broken aircraft, crew shortages, dirty cabins, delayed and cancelled flights -- as the 'price of rapid growth,'" said Captain James Ackerman, chairman of the Mesa unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, International, which represents Mesa pilots. However, after adding as many as ten new aircraft per month since 2004, Mesa growth has slowed dramatically in 2006. "Our operational problems still persist and, in fact, have worsened," added Ackerman. "Our pilots are genuinely concerned about the future of our company," he said, "and of those surveyed recently, 90 percent of them voiced their lack of confidence in current management."

"Mesa management has focused exclusively on growth these past few years, and has ignored our operational problems, which are taking a huge toll on Mesa pilots' quality of life and damaging this company's reputation," said Captain Ackerman. "Frankly, our pilots will not tolerate it anymore and neither will our existing codeshare partners, potential codeshare partners, and customers."

"We hope our management will consider the views of our pilot group very seriously and begin addressing our company's operational performance immediately," said Ackerman.

Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world's largest pilot union, representing 61,000 pilots at 40 airlines in the United States and Canada, including 1840 pilots who fly for Mesa Air Group. Mesa Air Group's 187 aircraft perform more than 1200 daily departures in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, the Bahamas and Mexico. Visit the ALPA website at http://www.alpa.org.