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99-510: Mesa was founded on a mesa in Farmington, New Mexico in 1982 by Larry and Janie Risley, a husband and wife team that mortgaged their home to finance their dream to own an airline. Mesa moved its headquarters to Phoenix, Arizona in 1998. As of June 2022, Mesa operated 167 aircraft, with more than 457 daily departures to 120 cities throughout the U.S., District of Columbia, Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, and Cuba. Mesa began in 1980 when JB Aviation ,

198-485: A Continental Express affiliate in mid-1986 and operated Convair 580 and Swearingen Metroliner propjets. Rocky Mountain Airways served Farmington from mid-1990 through late 1991 also as Continental Express with flights to Denver. The carrier operated Beechcraft 1900 and ATR-42 aircraft. American Eagle served Farmington from late 1994 through late 1995 with an eastbound flight to Lubbock and Dallas/Fort Worth and

297-591: A USAir Express codeshare in December. It was also in talks to acquire WestAir Commuter Airlines . In 1992, Mesa completed acquisition of WestAir Commuter Airlines and its hubs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle as well as its United codeshare. In October 1992, Mesa negotiated a codeshare agreement with America West for its Phoenix hub to be operated as America West Express . In 1993, Mesa's codeshare with Midwest Express expired. Midwest Express kept

396-463: A United Express affiliate after purchasing certain assets and routes of Aspen Airways. Larger Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia and de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 propjets were then acquired. In 1992 Mesa began another affiliation with America West Airlines and the Phoenix flights began operating as America West Express . Flights to Las Vegas were also briefly added and operated as America West Express in

495-574: A 2-by-3 arrangement. Saver Service, while decreasing the width of the seats, continued to feature ample legroom. This service was initially offered from the Milwaukee and Kansas City hubs to leisure destinations such as Florida, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix on McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft. The airline's Signature Service was also affected by financial difficulties. The signature gourmet meal services, which had been served on china after being cooked on board, were discontinued in 2002 and replaced with

594-429: A 36" pitch and providing 2 to 3 more inches of leg room than the previous Signature seating, and 59 Saver seats arranged two-by-three which the company claimed were among the roomiest coach seats in the industry. The company projected that the implementation of seating choices would generate $ 30–35 million in annualized revenue. The addition of 11 seats on each of the airline's 9 Boeing 717 aircraft would have reduced

693-549: A Midwest focus city. Northwest also code shared on Midwest Airlines-operated flights between Milwaukee and Kansas City to Atlanta , Boston , Hartford , Los Angeles and San Francisco that connected to the Northwest / KLM trans-Atlantic network and trans-Pacific network. Midwest won more awards for exceptional service in Condé Nast Traveler magazine than any other U.S. airline, although it won no further awards from

792-403: A New York City bankruptcy court. The company indicated that it will continue operations as normal. The company's Go! Mokulele subsidiary was not included in the filing, Per bankruptcy records, upon Mesa Air Group's exit from bankruptcy, US Airways Group will own a 10 percent stake in the operation. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection on March 1, 2011, as a privately held company with

891-500: A buy-on-board product. Midwest Express was serving the following destinations in October 1984: By 1985, Atlanta (ATL) had been added to the route system with service to Newark being discontinued at this time and by 1986 flights had been begun to Madison, Wisconsin (MSN), New York City LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Washington, D.C. National Airport (DCA). All service was flown nonstop between Milwaukee and these destinations, with

990-605: A charter flight. The cookie was featured in Midwest advertisements, such as the "Save the Cookie" campaign in opposition to the proposed and failed AirTran takeover. The cookie was served during professional baseball games at Kauffman Stadium , as well as Bucks basketball and Admirals hockey games at Milwaukee's Bradley Center . The cookie outlived the brand, as it was briefly served on Frontier Airlines flights. The airline's branded cookie dough, sold at Milwaukee-area grocery stores,

1089-553: A codeshare agreement with United Airlines . Using these newly acquired routes, Mesa set up a Denver hub flying as United Express. Aspen Airways' BAe 146 and Convair 580 aircraft and its Denver-Aspen route were sold to Air Wisconsin . Mesa had many changes in 1991; acquiring Air Midwest , its Kansas City hub and a codeshare agreement with USAir Express in July, starting FloridaGulf Airlines serving Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Louisiana from its Tampa hub under

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1188-468: A codeshare agreement with Delta for Freedom Airlines to operate as a Delta Connection carrier. By 1999, Mesa returned to profitability. Mesa acquired CCAir and its USAir Express codeshare in 1999. It continued to operate CCAir as a separate operation. By 2002, CCAir ceased operations due to high costs and its assets and employees were absorbed into Mesa. The latest merger attempt was in 2003, when Mesa offered to acquire Atlantic Coast Airlines . Its offer

1287-736: A division of Mesa Airlines using Beechcraft 1900 aircraft providing service to small communities in Wisconsin and the surrounding region. Midwest Express experienced steady growth and continued profitability, opening an additional hub in Omaha, Nebraska in early 1995. In 1994 Midwest Express established Astral Aviation to take over the operation of Skyway Airlines, dba Midwest Express Connection and Fairchild Dornier 328JETs were added in 1999. Kimberly-Clark relinquished its ownership in two initial public offerings on September 22, 1995, and May 8, 1996. The airline's new parent company, Midwest Air Group , traded on

1386-537: A fixed-base operator at the Four Corners Regional Airport in Farmington, NM, established a charter flight department and Mesa Air Shuttle with scheduled commuter airline service from Farmington to Albuquerque using a five-seat single-engine Piper Saratoga aircraft. A nine-seat Piper Navajo was later added for new service between Farmington and Denver. In late 1981, the Denver flights were discontinued and

1485-473: A full reserve and corresponding reduction in revenue during the second quarter of that year. Additional changes were announced on September 3, 2008, when the airline announced that it had raised $ 60 million from TPG, Northwest Airlines, and Republic Airways Holdings . As part of the outsourcing deal, Republic Airline operated 12 Embraer 170 aircraft under the Midwest Airlines brand, though Midwest had

1584-592: A local community college. Starting in 1989, Mesa embarked on a series of acquisitions and mergers over the next six years that would be known by the airline industry watchers as "Mesa's a deal a year growth". In February 1989, Mesa negotiated its first codeshare agreement with Midwest Express and established Skyway Airlines in Milwaukee. In July 1989, StatesWest Airlines failed to take over Mesa by making an offer to purchase all of its common operating stock. In February 1990, Mesa acquired Aspen Airways ' United Express Denver hub, routes, and assets, and negotiated

1683-639: A mini-hub at Farmington operating 13 flights per day with as many as five DC-3 aircraft on the ground at one time. Through the 1960s Frontier upgraded their aircraft with Convair 340 piston engine aircraft and later with Convair 580 turboprops. By 1981, Frontier had discontinued all flights to Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Salt Lake City; however, the flights to its Denver hub (with a fuel stop in Durango) were upgraded to Boeing 737-200 jetliners from 1982 through 1984. The Denver flights were then reverted to Convair 580 aircraft operated as Frontier Commuter before all service

1782-400: A new board of directors and having eliminated 100 excess aircraft. In December 2011, it was announced Mesa Air Group had divested itself of Mokulele's Cessna Caravan aircraft and operations. In June 2012, Mesa began the process of dropping the "go! Mokulele" name and reverting to "go!". Mesa Air Group labor groups are represented by several labor organizations: Mesa Air Group, Inc. sponsors

1881-457: A new codeshare with America West and expanded its existing one with USAir. In 2001, Mesa reestablished a codeshare agreement with Midwest Express for its Air Midwest Kansas City hub. Also that same year, Mesa negotiated an agreement with Frontier to operate as Frontier JetExpress out of Denver. The Frontier codeshare ended in 2003. In 2003, Mesa reestablished a codeshare agreement with United, operating as United Express. In 2005, Mesa negotiated

1980-452: A new route from Farmington to Grand Junction, CO, and Vernal, UT, was briefly added. In 1982, using $ 140,000 in capital, Larry Risley, an A&P mechanic with JB Aviation, and his wife Janie, purchased the airline; by mid 1983, they acquired their first 14-seat Beechcraft 99 turboprop commuter airliner. New service from Albuquerque to Durango, CO , began with the arrival of the second Beech 99 later that year. More Beech 99's were acquired and

2079-478: A plan to reequip with jet aircraft. In 1999, Mesa arranged to purchase 36 Embraer 145 jets with options for 64 additional ERJs. In 2001, Mesa arranged to purchase 20 CRJ-700s and 20 CRJ-900s with options for 80 additional CRJ-700/900s. Five of the CRJ-700 orders were subsequently converted to CRJ-900s. As Mesa took delivery of the larger CRJ-700s and CRJ-900s, scope restrictions with US Airways prevented Mesa from operating

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2178-532: A result of a decrease in the average fare Mesa received from United. In efforts to reduce its exposure to the high costs and mounting losses, Mesa announced that it would reduce and terminate service from its Denver hub in September 1997. United charged that the reduction and termination of service was a material breach of the codeshare agreement. Naturally Mesa disagreed. Again, as with WestAir, agreement could not be reached and United and Mesa mutually agreed to terminate

2277-560: A second regional airline, SkyWest Airlines , began providing feeder service as Midwest Connect along with Skyway. SkyWest flew Bombardier CRJ100/200 regional jets. Skyway was later shut down in 2008 and service to many of the smaller cities served with Beech 1900's had ended. On May 17, 2007, Midwest Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Northwest Airlines to form a codeshare agreement with them. The codeshare agreement added 250 city pairs and 1,000 new flight options for Midwest Airlines customers. Northwest routes that included

2376-676: A seemingly haphazard manner. From 1989 through 1995, Mesa had grown from one airline with hubs in Albuquerque, Denver, and Phoenix to six separate airlines with hubs throughout the country, though it had as many as eight airlines prior to 1995. Rather than integrating each new acquisition and airline into one integrated company, Mesa continued operating each individual airline independently, with separate labor groups, separate flight, maintenance, and marketing operations, and separate codeshare agreements. This resulted in an unwieldy corporate structure. In 1992, Mesa created Mesa Holdings Corp to manage

2475-430: A share, slightly more than the $ 16 a share from TPG Capital investors group. However, Midwest announced TPG would increase its offer to $ 17 per share and a definitive agreement had been reached late on August 16, 2007. On August 17, 2007, TPG and Northwest Airlines finalized their bid for Midwest with the final offer of $ 17 per share and a total deal of $ 450 million. On February 1, 2008, Midwest Air Group announced that

2574-453: A sizable executive charter operation with a specially configured DC-9. In 1989, Midwest Express added two McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft to its fleet, acquiring eleven additional aircraft between 1998 and 2001. These enabled the airline to expand services to the West Coast and Florida. 1989 also saw the addition of commuter airline feeder services operated by Skyway Airlines . Skyway was

2673-523: A temporary basis. In 2014, the airline suffered a severe shortage of pilots due to a new ruling requiring pilots to have 1500 hours of experience. This caused many flights to be cancelled or discontinued. In late 2016, some flights were upgraded to larger, 30-seat, Embraer Brasilia aircraft however all flights ended on October 30, 2017, leaving Farmington with no commercial air service. Other smaller commuter airlines that have served Farmington include: The peak of Farmington's commercial air service occurred in

2772-526: A total of 24 by the end of 1996. Eventually, Midwest Express served most major Midwestern and East Coast destinations. Its longtime slogan, "The Best Care in the Air", represented its inflight product. For many years, all flights featured 2-by-2 leather seating (in aircraft usually fitted with 3-2 seating), ample legroom, complimentary gourmet meals, and warm chocolate chip cookies. This made the airline popular with business travelers. In addition, Midwest Express operated

2871-602: A westbound flight to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Saab 340 and ATR-42 turboprop aircraft were used. Great Lakes Airlines began serving Farmington in mid-1998 with Beechcraft 1900D flights to Denver. The carrier had received the United Express affiliation formerly held by Mesa Airlines. The United Express affiliation was discontinued in early 2002 but the carrier continued to operate under its own brand. New flights to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles were later added with one-stop en route however these flights all operated on

2970-513: Is categorized as a regional general aviation facility. The airport has free long-term passenger vehicle parking, a full service restaurant and one major car rental company at the terminal, and free WiFi in the terminal area. Four Corners Regional Airport was served by many commercial air service providers, and was as high as the second busiest in the state of New Mexico, behind the Albuquerque International Sunport . Today it

3069-553: Is in San Juan County , New Mexico, United States, in the city of Farmington , which owns it. It is a Class D towered general aviation airport with no commercial passenger services, but has chartered flight services, flight instruction, and a full-service fixed-base operator]] (FBO). It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2019–2023, in which it

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3168-487: Is typically the fourth or fifth busiest airport in the state, usually behind Albuquerque International Sunport , Double Eagle II Airport (also in Albuquerque), Santa Fe Municipal Airport , Roswell International Air Center , and Lea County Regional Airport serving Hobbs. The decline in air service occurred when most regional airlines converted to jet aircraft, and the airport could not adequately adapt to accommodate them:

3267-841: The Air Line Pilots Association launched a campaign protesting the Midwest outsourcing plan shortly after it was announced. They argued that the pilots had already made significant concessions to help Midwest Airlines survive and that the company's new contract offers represented draconian demands. Midwest Airlines' final flight operated with a Boeing 717 -200 and staffed with Midwest Airlines flight crews landed in Milwaukee on November 2, 2009. Effective November 3, 2009, Midwest Airlines ceased to exist as an operating airline (allowing its DOT air carrier operator certificate to lapse). Midwest Connect flights operated by SkyWest Airlines also ended. Midwest Connect flights operated by Republic and Chautauqua Airlines would continue to operate using

3366-477: The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, Kimberly-Clark and K-C Aviation decided to form a regularly scheduled passenger airline, and Midwest Express began operations on June 11, 1984. At the time the airline had two Douglas DC-9-10 twin-engine jets and 83 employees. Early plans for the airline called for it to serve Appleton, Chicago, and Atlanta. Kimberly-Clark then opted against this plan with regard to

3465-729: The American Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "MEH." Midwest Express also added Midwest Vacations in the 1990s, naming GOGO Worldwide Vacations as the original partner to provide hotel service and later partnering with Mark Travel . Midwest Airlines Vacations continues to operate as a vacation provider. In 1997, according to the Midwest Express timetable, the airline was code sharing with Virgin Atlantic Airways for flights between London Heathrow Airport and Milwaukee and Kansas City with passengers connecting between

3564-474: The airline industry during the oil price increases since 2003 , Midwest Airlines was forced to cut back services. To do this, Midwest Airlines announced its intent to retire the 12 remaining McDonnell Douglas MD-80 jets in its fleet. According to the company, the MD-80 was "a very fuel inefficient airplane and at the cost of fuel today it's just become economically infeasible to operate these planes." The MD-80s, and

3663-474: The trailing edge of the tail. The engines were white, and on the tail was a bold "M" and a script "E", representing the airline name, and the way the titles were printed on the fuselage. This scheme could still be found on one Beech 1900D of Midwest Connect , without the "M E" on the tail, as late as 2005. In 1989, the airline started to add the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 to the fleet, initially in

3762-621: The Aloha Airlines suit was settled in November 2008. Mesa agreed to pay $ 2 million, 10% of Mesa's common stock, and provide travel benefits on go! for former Aloha employees. Initially the settlement agreement included a provision whereby Mesa Air Group could license the Aloha name, but a federal judge rejected that agreement on the basis of Mesa's alleged misconduct in the Hawaii market. In October 2009, it

3861-648: The America West Express flights to Phoenix ended in mid-2008. America West Airlines merged with US Airways in late 2007 and the Phoenix flights then began operating as US Airways Express shortly before being discontinued. Mesa has since grown into a much larger air carrier and now operates an all regional jet fleet flying for several major airlines via respective code sharing agreements. The carrier has not served Farmington since 2008. Trans-Colorado Airlines served Farmington from early 1986 through mid-1987 with flights to Denver and Albuquerque. The carrier became

3960-561: The Atlanta service after local resistance over the carrier's desire to serve Atlanta's Fulton County Airport , which is a general aviation airport located on the city's west side. From 1983 to 1985, the airline also operated a single Convair 580 twin-turboprop aircraft provided by Kimberly-Clark's corporate aviation department on corporate shuttle flights for Kimberly-Clark. The airline slowly grew, adding additional DC-9 aircraft to its fleet, including larger McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 jets, with

4059-607: The Embraer 170/190 aircraft retained the Midwest livery into late 2013 until their retirement or reassignment by Republic. The Chautauqua Embraer 135/145 fleet was repainted with the Frontier livery but were retired by January, 2013. In August 2017, reports surfaced that there were ongoing efforts to revive the Midwest brand. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , a group of people was trying to secure investors to relaunch

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4158-650: The Jetstreams and Brasilias flying in the West and the B1900s flying elsewhere. This also allowed the consolidation of maintenance facilities, since the facilities no longer needed to service all the different types of aircraft Mesa operated. To replace the Fokker aircraft, Mesa signed an agreement with Bombardier to purchase 16 Canadair Regional Jets (CRJ) with options for 32 more. The six pilot groups had voted to unionize in 1994. In 1996,

4257-573: The Mesa Angels Foundation which provides financial assistance to those Mesa employees and immediate family members in critical financial need due to extraordinary circumstances such as medical emergencies, natural disasters or other unforeseen life-changing events. Mesa Angels Foundation also supports charitable organizations through donations in the communities Mesa serves. Four Corners Regional Airport Four Corners Regional Airport ( IATA : FMN , ICAO : KFMN , FAA LID : FMN )

4356-676: The Midwest Airlines YX code were destinations beyond Northwest's hubs at Detroit , Minneapolis/St. Paul and Memphis throughout the United States and Canada. Midwest placed its code on Northwest flights from Indianapolis , then a Northwest focus city, as well as a number of Northwest-operated flights to Hawaii and Alaska . Routes operated by Midwest Airlines that carried the NW Northwest code were flights that connected at Midwest's Milwaukee and Kansas City hubs, as well as Omaha ,

4455-528: The US Department of Justice had cleared the acquisition of Midwest by TPG Capital and Northwest. This finalized the acquisition; trading of Midwest Air Group on the American Stock Exchange ceased at the end of the trading day on January 31, 2008, and stockholders in Midwest received the agreed-upon $ 17 per share. This ended the independent existence of Midwest Airlines. In accordance with the rest of

4554-500: The YX code alongside Midwest Connect flights. On October 1, 2010, the midwestairlines.com website was shut down for future reservations (besides frequent flyer tickets), and shut down completely on October 28, and users redirected to Frontier Airlines' website. In early November 2010, Midwest's YX code was retired and adopted by Republic Airlines . The Republic and Chautauqua feeder operations would then operate as Frontier Airlines. Several of

4653-551: The YX code through September 2010. On April 13, 2010, parent company Republic Airways Holdings announced that its Frontier Airlines and Midwest Airlines brands would merge under the Frontier Airlines name. Parts of the Midwest brand were incorporated into the Frontier brand as part of the merger, namely the Midwest cookie and the slogan of Midwest Airlines, "The Best Care In The Air." Some Frontier Airlines Airbus A319 aircraft also began operating on former Midwest routes using

4752-448: The airline using the original Midwest Express name. On August 9, 2019, it was announced that Elite Airways had signed an operating agreement to provide the initial aircraft, flight crews, and maintenance service for Midwest Express. On August 28, 2019, the airline announced its initial route network, which were to include Cincinnati, Omaha, and Grand Rapids, with service to commence by the year end. As of end-February 2020, however,

4851-583: The airline's unit costs by increasing capacity 12.5%. Had the new seating configuration on the Boeing 717s been in effect in 2006, Midwest Airlines' cost per available seat mile excluding fuel of 7.22 cents would have been 6.77 cents, a 6.3% improvement. In December 2006, AirTran Holdings Inc., owner of AirTran Airways , made public that in December 2005 it had approached the Board of Directors of Midwest Air Group—owner of Midwest Airlines and Midwest Connect, and had asked

4950-521: The assets from Crown Airways, Mesa set up Liberty Express Airlines with a Pittsburgh hub operating as USAir Express . In March 1995, Mesa took delivery of its first two regional jets, the Fokker 70 , a smaller version of the Fokker 100 jetliner. Mesa created Desert Sun Airlines and operated the two jets from a Phoenix hub to Des Moines and Spokane as America West Express. As Mesa acquired air carriers or expanded by creating new airlines, it grew in

5049-488: The bid for Midwest. A private equity group, headed by TPG Capital and including Northwest Airlines , purchased Midwest and turned the airline into a privately funded company. The inclusion of Northwest in the investing partners required anti-trust review from the United States Department of Justice , which reviews all airline mergers. On August 14, 2007, AirTran increased its offer to the equivalent of $ 16.25

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5148-411: The board to negotiate a sale of the company. That AirTran offer in 2005 was rebuffed by Midwest's board, which also rebuffed a second offer in late 2006. In December 2006, AirTran disclosed the rejection of both offers in hopes of bringing shareholder pressure on Midwest's board to reconsider, which the board recommended that shareholders reject. On August 12, 2007, it was announced that AirTran had lost

5247-472: The carrier was sold to Mesa Airlines . Mesa Airlines , founded in Farmington, began in 1980 with service to Albuquerque using small Piper prop aircraft. Beechcraft 99 , Beechcraft 1300 and Beechcraft 1900 turboprops were introduced in the mid-1980s and new service to Phoenix was added in 1985. Nonstops to Salt Lake City were also briefly operated in 1988. Flights to Denver began in April 1990 when Mesa became

5346-537: The change was the modern association of "express" with a regional airline , which Midwest was not. At the same time, Midwest's commuter airline subsidiary changed its name from Skyway Airlines, the Midwest Express Connection, to Midwest Connect . In a move to save money on jet fuel, the airline accelerated the replacement of DC-9 aircraft with the Boeing 717 -200. On May 23, 2006, Midwest Airlines accepted one of

5445-472: The circle to the leading edge of the tail. Despite the unchanged lettering on the tail, the titles on the fuselage were changed to all bold letters, rather than the script "Express" titles. In 2003, Midwest Express Airlines began to create a new identity, as the first Boeing 717s were being delivered, and the DC-9 aircraft were being retired. The company started with removing the "Express" from its name (and thus, off

5544-431: The codeshare with WestAir. Mesa attempted to reengage United and ask United to reconsider to no avail. Mesa experienced many customer complaints regarding its Denver United Express operation. The level of complaints resulted in a Congressional inquiry of the airline's performance. Mesa experienced increased costs the Denver hub as a result of moving from Denver Stapleton airport to the new Denver International Airport and as

5643-404: The codeshare. The effect of the codeshare termination with WestAir and Mesa was immediate. The termination put 87 (21 Jetstreams, 29 Brasilias, and 37 Beech 1900s) of Mesa's 184 aircraft out of service or 47% of its total aircraft. Mesa took immediate steps, parking the Jetstreams and Brasilias. It sold 10 Brasilias to Skywest. Mesa exercised the option to purchase 16 additional CRJs and traded in

5742-402: The company continued to expand from Albuquerque to other cities throughout New Mexico as well as Lubbock, TX. During its first few years, Mesa found itself in a very competitive environment. Six other carriers competed against Mesa: Air Midwest , Sun West Airlines , Pioneer Airlines , Trans-Colorado Airlines , Airways of New Mexico, and JetAire. As fare wars erupted between the carriers, Mesa

5841-465: The company headquarters was relocated from Farmington to Phoenix. The flight training and human resources departments were also moved to Phoenix. Its plan to return to profitability focused on several fronts: its aircraft, codeshares, and customer service. One of Mesa's problems during the turnaround was its fleet of over 180 turboprops. It began consolidating all of its remaining Beechcraft 1900 turboprops into Air Midwest, completed in 2000. It embarked on

5940-550: The company's Neenah, Wisconsin headquarters and its mills. Operating out of the nearby Appleton International Airport , early employee shuttle destinations included Chicago O'Hare, Memphis, and Atlanta's Fulton County Airport. In 1969, K-C Aviation was born from this, and was dedicated to the maintenance of corporate aircraft. K-C Aviation was sold in 1998 to Gulfstream Aerospace for $ 250 million; included were its operations in Appleton, Dallas, and Westfield, Massachusetts . After

6039-578: The crew shortage problem. Part of the crew shortage problem was related to the consolidation of flight operations in Farmington, and the training associated with transitioning the air carrier from a Part 135 operator to a Part 121 operator as required by a FAA mandate. America West canceled its codeshare with Mesa in 1997. In 1998, Jonathan Ornstein was appointed CEO of Mesa Air Group. Ornstein had been Risley's assistant from 1989 to 1995 during Mesa's initial expansion. Larry Risley remained on Mesa's board of directors. All corporate officers were replaced and

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6138-506: The crews that operated them, left Midwest in late 2008. In April of 2007, SkyWest Airlines began operating flights under the Midwest Connect brand alongside in-house subsidiary Skyway Airlines . Skyway shut down one year later, leaving SkyWest as Midwest's sole regional contractor. Midwest failed to pay a $ 3.3 million receivable that was due to SkyWest in June, 2008, forcing them to record

6237-418: The entire rear fuselage. The engines on these planes were painted in the same blue color, with four gold rings on the port engine, and three on the starboard. This was meant to represent the ranking of Captain and First Officer, along with where they sit. Only three MD-80 aircraft, registered N813ME, N822ME, and N823ME ever wore the full new livery; all other MD-80s wore a hybrid livery until retirement, combining

6336-409: The exception of a nonstop route between Appleton and Newark in 1984 that had been discontinued by 1985. The airline was serving the following destinations in June 2001: In early 2002 Kansas City became a secondary hub for the airline while Omaha was reduced to a focus city. In 2002, the airline made another major change, shortening its name from Midwest Express to simply Midwest. A major reason for

6435-719: The existing Mesa Airlines and its acquisitions. It resulted in the following subsidiaries: In 1995, Mesa Holdings Corp was renamed Mesa Air Group, and Mesa Airlines was renamed Mountain West Airlines . Mesa Air Group now consisted of the following six airlines and subsidiaries: In 1996, further company reorganization consolidated the separate flight dispatch functions of Desert Sun, FloridaGulf, and Mountain West airlines into one location in Farmington . All flight training facilities and human resources were centralized in Fort Worth . Since

6534-488: The first scheduled air service to Telluride, CO , as that aircraft had the performance to serve the city's airport which sits at more than 9000 feet above sea level. Service was also added to high altitude Angel Fire, NM , a year later. By 1987, Mesa had grown from six employees in 1982 to 187 employees; its fleet grew from a single Piper Saratoga in 1980 to one Piper Chieftain and three Beechcraft 99s in 1984 to five Beechcraft 99 and four Beechcraft 1900 turboprops. Of

6633-486: The fuselage), and it designed a new logo that would help point it out as a representative of Milwaukee . The result was a logo that looked much like a wing, with a small 'M' inside of it. However, if the logo is turned on its side, it bears a resemblance to the Milwaukee Art Museum , designed by Santiago Calatrava , which was being constructed at the same time. The Art Museum had risen as an icon of Milwaukee, and so

6732-513: The larger aircraft in its Mesa Airlines subsidiary. Mesa created a separate subsidiary, called Freedom Airlines to operate these aircraft. As the scope restriction at US Airways was removed during US Airways' bankruptcy reorganization and after Mesa settled with its pilot union regarding operating Freedom as a separate air carrier, Freedom's aircraft and pilots were merged back into Mesa Airlines in 2003. As Mesa completed its restructuring, it proceeded to reestablish codeshares. In 1998, it negotiated

6831-440: The last two Boeing 717s delivered in a ceremony with AirTran Airways , who accepted the other 717. Midwest also announced that selected MD-80 aircraft would leave the fleet. In May 2005, Midwest announced a new buy-on-board meal service for customers. The new program was a change from the previous 'In-flight Cafe' and featured chefs and inspiration from the renowned Mader's restaurant. Chocolate chip cookies continued to be baked on

6930-438: The launch had been delayed three months. In early May 2020, Republic (RPA) aircraft were being observed via ADS-B virtual radar being operated on Republic routes using scheduled RPA flight numbers but with the Midwest Airlines (MEP) prefix. Midwest Express' original livery consisted of dark blue on the upper half, and white on the lower half. The two were separated by blue and red cheatlines with white in between, which ran up

7029-565: The magazine after ceasing to be an independent company. On May 29, 2007, Midwest announced the next phase of the company's strategic plan, which offered customers the choice of Signature and Saver seating on all flights. The dual-seating option, replacing the original 88-seat configuration, was available on the airline's Boeing 717s until their retirement. The same amenities were provided to all passengers in either cabin, including leather seats. The new configuration consisted of 40 Signature leather seats, arranged in 10 rows of two-by-two, offering

7128-401: The mergers had created a diverse mix of aircraft types, Mesa proceeded to simplify the number of aircraft types operated from six ( Short 360 , British Aerospace BAe Jetstream 31 , Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia , Beechcraft 1900 , de Havilland Canada DHC-8 Dash 8 , Fokker 70 ) to three (B1900, Dash 8, Canadair CRJ). Mesa relocated aircraft to place all airplanes of the same type in a base, with

7227-408: The mid-1990s. By this time Mesa was the backbone air carrier at Farmington operating over 30 departures per day at times amongst their three divisions. Mesa's independent flights to Albuquerque operated every hour. The Denver flights were discontinued in 1998 when Mesa lost its United Express affiliation to Great Lakes Airlines. Independent flights operated by Mesa Air to Albuquerque ran through 2007 and

7326-502: The name Skyway for its future regional of the same name. Using the aircraft from the former Skyway operation, Mesa established Superior Airlines with a Columbus hub operating as America West Express. Mesa created CalPac (California Pacific) with a Los Angeles hub operating as United Express. Both Superior and CalPac were short-lived operations, with both airlines being folded back into Mesa Airlines United Express operations. In 1994, Mesa acquired Pittsburgh-based Crown Airways . Using

7425-434: The new Midwest Airlines felt this would be a good representation. Along with this new identity came a new livery. The bottom of the aircraft remained grey, while the top was repainted in a deeper blue, with essentially the same gold, white, and red cheatlines separating the two. On the lower half, there was also a blue swoop, starting at the front (looking much like another stripe), getting larger as it went back until it covered

7524-725: The option to convert the aircraft into a long-term lease and operate them directly. The airline also reached an agreement with Boeing Capital to return 16 Boeing 717s, leaving it at the time with a fleet of only 9 aircraft. On June 23, 2009, Republic Airways Holdings , Inc announced they would acquire Midwest Airlines for $ 31 million. The deal closed on July 30. Midwest became a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways and continued to operate under current branding. The Midwest Airlines FAA operating certificate expired on November 3, 2009. The acquisition by Republic occurred just 22 months after TPG and Northwest Airlines paid $ 450 million for Midwest. The total loss of investment by TPG and Northwest

7623-506: The period ending July 31, 2021, there were 87 aircraft based at this airport: 70 single- engine , 10 multi-engine, 1 jet, 4 helicopters , and 2 ultralights . The airport has one terminal for all arrivals and departures, as well as one FBO, Atlantic Aviation. The data below lists annual total aircraft operations from the FAA's Air Traffic Activity System, 2009 through 2021. Midwest Express Midwest Airlines (formerly Midwest Express )

7722-688: The pilot groups of the six airlines were merged into one common seniority list, and under the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representation, the pilots and Mesa negotiated and ratified a five-year collective bargaining agreement. When Mesa started taking deliveries of the CRJ in 1997, it returned to two Fokker 70 jets and placed the CRJs in service in Phoenix. Mesa started an independent hub providing CRJ service from Fort Worth Meacham to Houston , San Antonio , Austin , and from Colorado Springs to Nashville and San Antonio . This effort proved to be unsuccessful and

7821-483: The plane and served warm. Midwest became the largest longstanding operation at Mitchell Airport and served 21 cities nonstop ( San Antonio (SAT) as well as Orange County, CA (SNA) were served from Milwaukee with one stop flights via Kansas City in 2005), while its regional partner Skyway Airlines , operating as Midwest Connect , served nearly 30 destinations throughout the Central United States. In 2006,

7920-600: The primary cities in New Mexico, it then expanded outside of the state by acquiring routes in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado from Centennial Airlines as well as adding nonstop flights from Roswell, NM, to DFW. Mesa then acquired a pair of 9-seat Cessna Caravans to serve even smaller cities in New Mexico and established new routes from Albuquerque to Taos and Ruidoso. To provide a pool of qualified pilots, Mesa established an ab-initio flight training program in 1989 with San Juan College ,

8019-439: The remaining Brasilias to Bombardier for CRJs. Mesa sold 24 Beech 1900s to Great Lakes, and returned the remaining Beech 1900s to Beechcraft/Raytheon. WestAir ceased operations in 1998. Mesa experienced difficulties with its other two codeshares as well. Flight crew shortages and scheduling problems resulted in the cancellation of many flights. From October 1997 to January 1998, Mesa parked aircraft and canceled flights to alleviate

8118-481: The runways sit on top of a plateau which limited the lengths of the runways. In recent years, construction has been underway to extend the plateau, widen and extend runways, and improve taxiways in an effort to eventually accommodate jet aircraft in accordance with FAA requirements. Most commercial air service for the area now occurs at the La Plata County Airport near Durango, Colorado. Monarch Air Lines

8217-409: The same livery. In the mid-1990s, the livery was substantially revised. The top half of the aircraft remained blue (albeit slightly brighter), but the bottom half was repainted light grey, along with the engines, and they were now separated by gold, white, and red cheatline. The tail logo also underwent minor changes, adding a circle around the lettering and the same cheatline from the fuselage connecting

8316-459: The second Midwest Express livery with the current logo and titling of Midwest Airlines. In the transitional period, some MD-80s also received the new titles before the new tail logo, resulting in another variation on the livery. A defining feature of the airline was the chocolate chip cookies baked on the aircraft and served during flights. The airline began serving the cookies after an employee experimented with different snacks on an empty leg of

8415-483: The service from Fort Worth ended in less than a year. Mesa and United entered into discussions in July 1997 to renew WestAir's codeshare agreement, which was due to expire in May 1998. Mesa and United could not agree on new terms. As negotiations delayed into the summer, United started awarding WestAir's routes to SkyWest Airlines . Finally with negotiations at an impasse, United announced in November 1997 that it would not renew

8514-401: The six competing air carriers, none remained to challenge Mesa in New Mexico by the end of 1987. The airline had built up its Albuquerque hub to 45 departures per day serving 17 cities and providing hourly service to Farmington. Mesa continued to grow in 1987. It listed on Nasdaq :  MESA with an initial public offering of 865,000 shares of stock at $ 7.50. While it was now operating to all

8613-426: The summer of 1983 when the city was served by six airlines simultaneously with a total of 38 departures per day, three of which were Frontier Airlines Boeing 737 jets. As of October 30, 2017, there have been no commercial passenger flights at Farmington. The airport received a Small Community Air Service Development Program grant in 2019 for SkyWest Airlines to begin service to Denver as United Express . The service

8712-471: The time, and reviewed operational records and forecasts, but ultimately decided not to acquire or invest in either carrier. In 2006, after Mesa announced plans for its "go!" sub-branded airline in Hawaii, Hawaiian Airlines sued to block the launch, claiming that Mesa had violated a confidentiality agreement. Aloha Airlines filed a similar suit against Mesa later that year. In September 2007, the CFO of Mesa Air Group

8811-545: The two air carriers in Boston. After fourteen years of profit-making, Midwest Express was affected with serious financial problems after the September 11 terrorist attacks . To return to profitability, the airline made major changes. The Omaha hub was reduced to a focus city in early 2002, with hub status transferred to Kansas City . Some MD-80 series aircraft were reconfigured into a new "Saver Service", featuring cloth coach seats in

8910-499: The year to 1,850, Midwest indicated that it hoped to begin operating these new planes itself with Midwest crews in 8–12 months from that time. Additional aircraft from Republic were added to the operation in the form of larger Embraer ERJ-190s in August 2009. Chautauqua Airlines , a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways, also began service as Midwest Connect in August 2009 using Embraer 135/145 regional jets. The Midwest branch of

9009-534: Was 93% or $ 419 million. On September 3, 2008, Midwest Airlines announced its plan to outsource all of its flight operations to Republic Airways . Republic began operating twelve 76-seat Embraer ERJ-170 jets under the Midwest Connect name while Midwest returned its 25 Boeing 717 planes to Boeing under a lease renegotiation. While this change caused the additional layoffs bringing the total of pink-slipped Midwest pilots to nearly 300 and total employee cuts for

9108-718: Was able to survive due to its low cost structure. It performed maintenance in house, many of Mesa's employees performed multiple duties: pilots and mechanics doubled as gate agents and ramp agents. In 1984, the Civil Aeronautics Board awarded Mesa its first Essential Air Service (EAS) contract, to serve Roswell , Hobbs , and Carlsbad , winning the contract from Air Midwest . A second round of EAS bidding resulted in Mesa winning contracts to serve Silver City , Alamogordo , Las Cruces , Clovis , and Gallup . By late 1985, Mesa acquired its first Beechcraft 1900 turboprop and began

9207-592: Was an airline in the United States headquartered in Oak Creek , Wisconsin , that operated from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport between 1984 and 2010. For a short time, it also operated as a brand of Republic Airways Holdings . Operations as an independent airline ceased in November 2010, upon its merger with Frontier Airlines . Midwest Airlines began in 1948, when Kimberly-Clark began providing air transportation for company executives and engineers between

9306-565: Was announced Mesa Air Group's subsidiary "go! " would be taking over all of the Hawaii flying done by Mokulele Airlines and R.A.H.'s Shuttle America . The combine operation was rebranded as go! Mokulele . Mokulele operated a fleet of 4 Cessna Caravan aircraft that were retained in the combined operation, but the Embraer 170 aircraft operated by Shuttle America on behalf of Mokulele were removed from Hawaii service. On January 5, 2010, Mesa Air Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in

9405-551: Was discontinued in early 1985. Aspen Airways first came to Farmington for a period in 1979 and flew Convair 580s nonstop to Denver and Albuquerque. The carrier returned to Farmington in 1983 with flights only to Denver and became a United Express affiliate in 1986. Aspen Airways introduced British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jets between Farmington and Denver with a stop in Durango beginning in 1985 but ended all flights in March 1990 when

9504-707: Was placed on administrative suspension as irregularities were investigated during the Hawaiian Airlines case. In an announcement, Mesa Air Group CEO Jonathan Ornstein assured shareholders and investors that "the alleged misconduct does not involve the financial controls, financial statements or operations of the Company." The judge overseeing the Mesa go! case, however, ruled Mesa destroyed evidence. and ordered Mesa Air Group to pay an $ 80 million interest bearing settlement with interest, along with legal fees, to Hawaiian Airlines. Aloha Airlines ceased operations in March 2008, and

9603-452: Was refused, and ACA went on to operate independently as Independence Air and later ceased operations in January, 2006. In 2006, Mesa began operating in Hawaii under the brand go! and established a codeshare agreement with Mokulele Airlines , where Mokulele will operate as a go! Express carrier. In 2004, Mesa Air Group met with Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines , both in bankruptcy at

9702-491: Was set to begin on October 15, 2020, but was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and later cancelled due to a shortage of pilots at SkyWest. Four Corners Regional Airport covers an area of 603 acres (244 ha) and contains two asphalt paved runways : For the 12-month period ending December 31, 2021, the airport had 44,803 aircraft operations, an average of 122 per day: 84% general aviation , 13% air taxi and 3% military. For

9801-484: Was the first air carrier to serve Farmington beginning in 1947 using Douglas DC-3 aircraft on flights to Albuquerque and to Denver and Salt Lake City that made several stops en route. Monarch and two other carriers all merged in 1950 to create the original Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) . Frontier Airlines (1950-1986) continued to serve Farmington with DC-3s through the 1950s and added flights to Phoenix making several en-route stops as well. In 1958 Frontier created

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