is an
American regional
Airline based in
Eagan, Minnesota . The airline operates under '''Mesaba Aviation''', Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of
Northwest Airlines . All of its flights are operated under the name
Northwest Airlink for
Northwest Airlines .
Mesaba an American Indian name for "soaring eagle" was founded in 1944 by Gordy Newstrom in Coleraine, Minn. and started operations in the same year under the name of Mesaba Aviation. It had one airplane, a
Piper Cub purchased for $1,300, and it was used to shuttle employees of the Blandin Paper Company from
Grand Rapids, Minnesota to
Minneapolis . In 1950 Newstrom moved the company to Grand Rapids.
In 1970, the Halverson family of
Duluth, Minnesota bought Mesaba from Newstrom. On
4 February 1973 , they started regularly scheduled airline services serving rural Minnesota communities.
The Swenson family of
Thief River Falls, Minnesota purchased Mesaba Aviation in 1977. They took the company public in 1982 as the airline began flying to
Iowa ,
North Dakota and
South Dakota , using a fleet of Beech 99s.
In 1983, Mesaba became a
Codeshare partner of
Republic Airlines , flying
Turboprop aircraft from small regional communities to the
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport . In 1986, after the merger of Republic Airlines and Northwest Orient Airlines, Mesaba transitioned their
Codeshare partnership, and began operations as a
Northwest Airlink carrier.
Mesaba began feeder service from
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to small airports across the east and midwest using
Fokker F27 and
Fairchild Metro aircraft in 1988. Maintenance bases were established both in Detroit and
Wausau, Wisconsin .
In 1991, Mesaba began adding the first of 25
De Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft (leased from Northwest Airlines) to begin replacing the
Fokker F-27 's.
In 1995, Mesaba and Northwest reached an agreement to provide service with
Saab 340 turboprop aircraft. By 1996, Mesaba's fleet consisted of 55 aircraft, with projections of 2006 predicting a fleet of 114 aircraft. The company employed 1,540 employees.
Northwest's Memphis hub was served exclusively by Airlink partner Express Airlines I, now
Pinnacle Airlines , until 1997, when Mesaba began
Jet Aircraft service using the
Avro RJ-85 , the first
Regional Jet to be flown by either Airlink airline. Mesaba was split off at this time into
Airways Corporation to address objections from Northwest over their operation of a jet fleet. Eventually, as Pinnacle transitioned to an all
Canadair Regional Jet fleet, Mesaba took over all
Northwest Airlink Saab 340 operations.
The year 2000 brought many changes to Mesaba. The company took delivery of its final Avro RJ, along with 11 new Saab 340 aircraft. This made Mesaba the operator of the largest fleet of Avro BAe 146/RJ aircraft (36) in the world, and the second-largest operator of Saab 340's.
After the
September 11 Terrorist Attacks , Mesaba was forced to reduce its workforce by 20% and achieve cost savings. In the fall of 2003, Northwest announced plans to begin retirement of the Avro jet fleet, beginning with five aircraft. The Avro jets, which comprise of about half of Mesaba's revenue, were according to Northwest inefficient and aging. However, Mesaba was able to negotiate a deal with Northwest allowing the Avro fleet to remain in service for the near future. In 2005, it was announced that Mesaba would have the exclusive rights to the next 15 Canadair Regional Jets delivered to Airlink, eventually destined to replace the Avro jets. Two examples were delivered in early September.
On ,
2007 )
In early 1998, in recognition of the successful introduction of two new airliner types to the fleet (the
Saab 340 and the
Avro RJ-85 Regional Jet ) while maintaining excellent operating performance Mesaba Airlines was presented with the Air Transport World "Regional Airline of the Year for 1997" award.
Saab painted two new
Saab 340 aircraft in special commemorative liveries celebrating both the award and Mesaba's 25th anniversary of scheduled airline service.
On ,
2005 )
On
14 September 2005 ,
Northwest Airlines filed for
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. Subsequently, the airline withheld over $25 million in payments from their regional partners Mesaba and Pinnacle. Northwest proceeded to announce plans to ground the entire Avro fleet by Q1 2007, 10 Saab 340B aircraft by
24 January 2006 , and to halt the delivery of the 13 remaining Canadair Regional Jets, leaving Mesaba with an awkward and expensive fleet of two aircraft. Facing rising fuel costs, downsizing plans, and lack of income from Northwest, Mesaba Aviation filed for
Chapter 11 on
13 October 2005 .
In an interview in January 2006, Mesaba President John Spanjers announced that the Mesaba fleet would be cut in half by the end of the year. Twelve Avro jets had already been removed from the fleet, and the balance would be grounded by the end of the year. 10
Saab 340 "B" model aircraft were returned to Pinnacle Airlines (from whom they were leased) during January 2006 while the 3 remaining "A" model Saab 340's and the two Canadair Regional Jets that had been delivered to Mesaba prior to bankruptcy will leave the fleet before mid-year. These changes left Mesaba with a fleet of 49 Saab 340 turboprops.
As of January 2006, the company employed 3,707 people.
On
14 April 2006 the company announced reductions of the RJ85 fleet, at Northwest Airlines' direction. RJ-85's ceased flying out of Memphis on
June 8 , and on
October 31 the last RJ85 disappeared from Minneapolis/St. Paul. The last RJ85 aircraft was retired in Detroit on
December 4 ,
2006 .
Separately it was announced that one of the two 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets operated by Mesaba would be taken by Northwest to start the flying operations (expected in late 2006) of newly-formed Northwest Airlines subsidiary
Compass Airlines .
By the end of October 2006, all three of the major unions representing the Pilots,
Mesaba Airline Reaches Tentative Agreement (WCCO News:
October 28 ,
2006 ) Flight Attendants,
Mesaba Flight Attendants Reach Deal (MPR: ,
2006 )reached tentative agreements that still must be approved by the membership. On
November 27 ,
2006 , the three unions announced that their membership had ratified the new agreements.
In December 2006, Northwest Airlines said it may purchase Mesaba Airlines from current owner MAIR Holdings and operate it as a wholly-owned subsidiary. Tentative agreement to the sale were made, however, the merger could not have been approved without going through bankruptcy board proceedings and approvals of regulators and various interest groups.
On ,
2007 )
Mesaba operates a fleet of
Regional Jet and
Turboprop aircraft from
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport ,
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , and
Memphis International Airport on short flights primarily to small-to-medium sized cities and towns.
The Mesaba Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft as of July 2007:
