Air Wisconsin, the longtime United Airlines [UALAQ] code-share partner and future investor in US Airways [UAIR], will begin flying in the US Airways Express fleet on Aug. 13.

In August, privately held Air Wisconsin will begin a seven-month transition, which will shift its 70 Bombardier [BBD] CRJ 200s from the United Express fleet to the US Airways family. With Air Wisconsin entering the family, Mesa Air Group [MESA] in September will begin to transition out of the US Airways Express operation.

Air Wisconsin is making the switch in August with just three planes. "We will pull the planes in early August from United and then paint them in the US Airways livery. We will start flying for US Airways on Aug. 13," said Kelly Lanpheer, Air Wisconsin's spokeswoman.

The first routes will be Charlotte to Milwaukee, Philadelphia to Milwaukee and Philadelphia to Minneapolis, said Amy Kudwa, a US Airways spokeswoman. Air Wisconsin will be flying routes that are currently being flown by Mesa and PSA, a wholly owned unit of US Airways. In August, US Airways will reassign the Mesa and PSA aircraft to other routes.

The transition schedule gets more aggressive in September, Lanpheer said. In September, 10 planes will make the switch; 20 planes in October; another 20 in November; six in December and three in January. By February, all 70 CRJs should have made the switch.

Air Wisconsin will pull its planes from United early each month as United begins a new schedule, and the planes will enter US Airways service in mid-month. It does not anticipate any interior changes.

Air Wisconsin is switching code-share partners after bankrupt United put its routes up for bid last year. To counter the possible loss of the United business, Air Wisconsin in February agreed to invest $125 million in a post-bankrupt US Airways in return for the right to fly for US Airways.

The deal with US Airways gave the network carrier the right to fly the 50-seat CRJs, but left out of the deal were the 14 BAe 146s that Air Wisconsin also owns and has been flying for United. Air Wisconsin will continue to fly some of these 86-to-100-seat planes in the Denver and Aspen, Colo., markets through next April. As the leases on the planes expire, Lanpheer said they are returning the planes to their owners. By next April, she said, all the 146s will have been retired from the Air Wisconsin fleet.

To serve the new US Airways account, Lanpheer said Air Wisconsin is establishing crew domiciles in Philadelphia - a major US Airways hub - and at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. One more smaller domicile will be opened on the East Coast - at an undetermined location.

In its transition agreement with United, Air Wisconsin did win a contract to continue to some ground-handling chores for United. It will handle the ground operations at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Another United carrier, SkyWest [SKYW], announced last week it would be picking up the ground operations in Denver and at six Rocky Mountain resort locations. These sites had been Air Wisconsin'.

Mesa's transition plan has not been established. US Airways' Kudwa said that Mesa's first planes will be withdrawn in September.

Linda Larsen, a Mesa spokesperson, said at this point the "plan is so tentative that it has not been announced to the employees" and as a consequence the firm would not be making any public statements on the transition.

Since both Air Wisconsin and Republic Airways [RJET] struck investment deals this spring with US Airways with conditions cementing future flying pacts, it was obvious that Mesa's 59 RJs would no longer be needed in the US Airways fleet. Mesa struck two separate deals to spread its aircraft between United, a current partner, and Delta Air Lines [DAL], a new partner. Mesa will fly an additional 30 50-seat RJs for United with the first of those new flights scheduled for October (RAN, June 13). Mesa also is expected to being flying for Delta in October (RAN, May 23).

>>Contacts: Kelly Lanpheer, Air Wisconsin, (920) 749-7638; Amy Kudwa, US Airways, (703) 872-5116; Linda Larsen, Mesa, (602) 685-4126.<<