Mesa Air Group Inc has said it was exploring options to raise money amid rising costs after the US regional carrier handed its pilots bumper contracts to deter switching to other airlines.
Details
Mesa said it was finalising an agreement to operate regional flights for United Airlines.
Regional carriers run flights to places that do not attract routes from the bigger US airlines. For instance, American Eagle is a network of six regional carriers operating 3,400 daily flights under a codeshare with American Airlines.
Mesa said it was moving to United's network from next year after opting to wind down flights for American Airlines.
The company added it was finalizing a previously announced sale of remaining eight CRJ-550 jets to United, adding it also has an agreement to sell 11 surplus CRJ-900 aircraft to an unnamed third party.
"Mesa is pursuing other avenues to increase liquidity through the sale of additional surplus aircraft, spare parts and spare engines," said Arizona-based Mesa in a statement.
Reducing debt has become a priority for the airline industry that went on a borrowing binge to survive the pandemic. The industry is also facing cost pressures from fuel prices and new labor contracts.
Mesa had raised pilot salaries earlier this year by as much as 172%.
Total Assets Versus Total Liabilities
The carrier, which recently postponed the release of its fourth-quarter results scheduled for 12 December, had total assets of $1.32 billion as of 30 June versus total liabilities of $897.1 million.
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