Mesa may return to earlier plans to put Bombardier CRJ 900s into its go! operation, according to reports in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, which quoted the company’s SEC filing as saying that go!’s losses tripled in its first fiscal quarter. CEO Jonathan Ornstein has repeatedly said that its 50-seat RJs are unprofitable and has been moving away from them with its express and Delta Connection operations. In his first quarter conference call, he said he is currently negotiating with United to take out more CRJ 200s in favor of larger equipment. Related Story He told the newspaper the company is making the same move at go!. Indeed, earlier plans to introduce larger equipment last summer to go! where derailed when the larger aircraft were needed by Mesa’s three major-carrier partners. He noted the lengthy backlog for larger equipment saying the earliest Mesa could receive new equipment is Spring 2009. “We’d be talking about an April delivery,” he told the Star Bulletin. In addition to the seasonal flights it has been adding, go! will expand capacity this summer.
Mesa Air Group reported in its SEC 10Q that go! lost $6.6 million in the first quarter, triple the $1.9 million in the year-ago period. Revenue dropped 8.2 percent to $6.2 million on a 12.5 percent reduction in capacity. Maintenance also hit the fledgling carrier at $2.7 million, which Mesa has been reporting throughout the last year for its entire fleet.