To join the program, the following are required:
FAA Commercial Pilot CertificateMulti-instrument rating with a minimum of 25 hoursMaintain 25 hours of flying time a month, and pilots may choose to fly up to 8 hours a day, based on availability
FAA Commercial Pilot CertificateMulti-instrument rating with a minimum of 25 hoursMaintain 25 hours of flying time a month, and pilots may choose to fly up to 8 hours a day, based on availability
Have at least 1,000 hours of qualifying commercial air carrier operating experienceAirline Transport Pilot License (ATP)Must have flown 100 hours within the previous 12 months
Participants will transition to United through Aviate after flying 1600 Pilot in Command hours at MesaA $110,000 signing bonus paid at the completion of their trainingA 1 for 1 longevity match based on qualifying experience at any Part 121 or Part 135 carrier. This will allow candidates to earn up to $215 per flight hour and accrue vacation at a much higher rateAll Mesa benefits including 401(k), dental, vision, medical and travel
Mesa Air Group, has released its third quarter fiscal 2023 financial and operating results.
Fiscal Third Quarter Update:
Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and CEO, said, “As expected, Fiscal 2023 has been a transformative year as we ended our agreement with American Airlines and transitioned all of our regional capacity to United. While we are pleased with the progress we have made in some areas, we have more work to do in others. One of our key initiatives remains the disposition of excess CRJ-900 aircraft and related assets. To date, we have entered into agreements to sell 18 excess CRJ-900s, four of which we closed earlier this year, with the remaining 14 expected to close by calendar-year end. We are currently in active negotiations for the sale of additional aircraft. We also continue to focus on maximizing aircraft utilization with our existing pilot resources through more productive scheduling of our fleet in cooperation with United.”
Mr. Ornstein continued, “The CRJ-900 transition from American to United was a complex process and our people have done an amazing job. With little incremental regional capacity available industry-wide, we were pleased to fly almost half a million passengers for United on our CRJ fleet during our third quarter. With United’s continued support, we believe, based on current pilot staffing outlook, we will be at United’s target block-hour utilization rate by the end of fiscal-year 2024.“Mesa has been a long-time Express carrier for United, and we believe United will ensure we remain an integral part of their regional portfolio. While Mesa’s primary service to United is providing valuable feed traffic, we also assist in the creation of future United pilots through our participation in Aviate, help maintain competitiveness among their regional portfolio, and share co-investments in advanced aviation technology and electric aircraft. In return, United has been an invaluable partner, helping us create additional liquidity through a number of initiatives, which we expect will continue through to the completion of our transformation and return to profitability.”
Mesa Air Group, Inc. this week reported first-quarter fiscal 2023 financial and operating results.
Fiscal First Quarter Update:
Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and CEO, said, “The first quarter was an important one for Mesa, as we executed several key agreements that will materially enhance our operational and financial position and alleviate significant issues that we have faced. While block hour production continued to be challenged by the industry-wide pilot shortage during the quarter, we believe all the pieces are in place to begin restoring capacity across our fleets. We are preparing for the transition of our CRJ-900 operation to United next month. Our pilot pipeline continues to strengthen and pilot attrition has remained significantly lower since we have enhanced our payscales and expanded our participation in the Aviate program with United.”
Fiscal First Quarter Details:
Total operating revenues in Q1 2023 were $147.2 million, a decrease of $0.6 million (0.4%) from $147.8 million for Q1 2022. Contract revenue decreased $8.4 million, or 6.2%. These decreases were driven by lower block hours, offset by increased block-hour revenue for new pilot payscales. Mesa’s Q1 2023 results include, per GAAP, the recognition of $5.3 million, versus the recognition of $4.2 million of previously deferred revenue in Q1 2022. The remaining deferred revenue balance of $18.8 million will be recognized as flights are completed over the remaining terms of the contracts.
Mesa’s Adjusted EBITDA1 for Q1 2023 was $21.8 million, compared to $17.0 million in Q1 2022, and Adjusted EBITDAR1 was $25.9 million for Q1 2023, compared to $26.6 million in Q1 2022.
Mesa’s Q1 2023 results reflect a net loss of $9.1 million, or $(0.25) per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $14.3 million, or $(0.40) per diluted share for Q1 2022. Mesa’s Q1 2023 adjusted net loss1 was $4.3 million, or $(0.12) per diluted share, versus an adjusted net loss1 of $9.3 million, or $(0.26) per diluted share, in Q1 2022. The year over year increase in adjusted net income of $5.0 million was primarily due to increased block-hour revenue for new pilot payscales and lower maintenance, D&A, and aircraft rent expenses, partially offset by higher expenses for flight operations due to increased costs for training and employee wages.
Operationally, the Company ran a controllable completion factor of 99.4% for American and 99.9% for United during Q1 2023. This is compared to a controllable completion factor of 97.7% for American and 98.3% for United during Q1 2022. This excludes cancellations due to weather and air traffic control.
With respect to a total completion factor that includes all cancellations, Mesa reported a total completion factor of 97.9% for American and 99.2% for United during Q1 2023. This is compared to a total completion factor of 95.8% for American and 95.8% for United during Q1 2022.
For Q1 2023, 50% of the Company’s total revenue was derived from our contracts with United, 45% from American, 3% from DHL, and 2% from leases of aircraft to a third party.
Financial Summary Q2:
Quarter Highlights:
Fiscal Year Q2 Results:
Mesa’s Q2 FY22 results reflect a net loss of $42.8 million, or $(1.19) per diluted share, compared to net income of $5.7 million, or $0.14 per diluted share for Q2 FY21. Mesa’s Q2 FY22 adjusted pre-tax loss1 was $13.1 million versus an adjusted pre-tax income1 of $12.1 million in Q2 FY21. The year over year decrease in adjusted pre-tax income of $25.2 million was primarily due to lower block hours and the impact of the PSP program.
Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and CEO, said, “While demand for our product remains strong, our financial results this quarter reflect the ongoing challenge of heightened pilot attrition. In January, our operational and financial performance was significantly impacted by Covid-related higher pilot absence rates which have since subsided. We remain focused on taking steps to address pilot attrition, including increased hiring, simulator capacity, and training capabilities, which has been exacerbated by the industry-wide pilot shortage.”
Fiscal Q2 details:
Mesa’s Q1 FY22 results reflect a net loss of $14.3 million, or $(0.40) per diluted share, compared to net income of $14.1 million, or $0.39 per diluted share for Q1 FY21. Mesa’s Q1 FY22 adjusted net loss1 of $9.3 million was down compared to net income of $13.2 million in Q1 FY21. We can attribute this $22.5 million decrease to the impacts related to Covid, such as cancelled flights, a catch up in deferred heavy maintenance expense, and a spike in sick-related absence rates. Mesa also did not recognize any PSP funds as an offset to operating expenses during Q1 2022, compared to an $11.3 million reduction in Q1 2021.
Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and CEO, said, “Mesa’s results reflect the impact of Covid to our quarter’s operations and financials. Its effect on this quarter was significant and unlike anything we have seen in twenty years. This was further impacted by elevated pilot attrition as the major and national airlines have accelerated hiring. Looking ahead, we are cautiously optimistic that we are already seeing a decrease in Covid-related absence rates. Managing through the challenges of pilot attrition in our core regional operation remains our team’s top priority.
Outside of our core regional operation, we continue to move forward with some of our important strategic initiatives. We are taking delivery of our third 737-400F aircraft this month. We also remain invested in electric aircraft companies Archer Aviation and Heart Aerospace as we look to position Mesa to be the regional airline leader in decarbonization and electric aircraft. Going forward, our strategy is to selectively look for other opportunities in aviation related, green technologies to ensure a leadership role in this area.”
Fiscal Q1 details:
Operating statistics for December 2021 and fiscal year 2021 YTD are included in the table below.
As of September 30, 2021, Mesa operated under the capacity purchase agreements- CPAs and services agreements - FSA, or maintained as operational spares, a fleet of 153 aircraft with approximately 507 daily departures and 3,241 employees. As of September 30, 2021, we also leased 14 aircraft to a third party, for a total of 167 aircraft. Mesa operates all of its flights as either American Eagle, United Express, or DHL Express.
Financial Summary:
Fiscal Year Q4 Highlights:
Fiscal Year Q4 Results:
Mesa’s Q4 2021 results reflect a net loss of $7.5 million, or $(0.21) per diluted share, compared to net income of $11.4 million, or $0.32 per diluted share for Q4 2020. Mesa’s Q4 2021 adjusted net loss¹ of $2.1 million was down compared to net income of $11.4 million in Q4 2020 primarily due to an increase of $9 million in heavy airframe maintenance expense, $3 million in maintenance parts and $2 million in increased pilot training expenses.
Revenue in Q4 2021 was $130.8 million, an increase of $22.8 million (21.1%) from $108.0 million for Q4 2020 primarily due to an increase in block hour volumes for its major partners. Mesa’s Q4 2021 results include, per GAAP, the recognition of $1.3 million of previously deferred revenue, versus the deferral of $7.8 million of revenue in Q4 2020. The remaining deferred revenue balance will be recognized as flights are completed over the remaining terms of the contracts.
Mesa’s Adjusted EBITDA¹ for Q4 2021 was $25.8 million, compared to $44.6 million in Q4 2020, and Adjusted EBITDAR¹ was $35.5 million for Q4 2021, compared to $54.2 million in Q4 2020.
Operationally, the Company ran a controllable completion factor of 99.1% for American and 99.8% for United during Q4 2021. This is compared to a controllable completion factor of 99.8% for American and 99.8% for United during Q4 2020. This excludes cancellations due to weather and air traffic control.
With respect to a total completion factor that includes all cancellations, Mesa reported a total completion factor of 97.3% for American and 98.1% for United during Q4 2021. This is compared to a total completion factor of 99.1% for American and 97.5% for United during Q4 2020.
Aug-21 | Aug-20 | % Change | YTD FY2021 | YTD FY2020 | % Change | |
Block Hours | ||||||
American | 12,042 | 7,136 | 68.8% | 123,421 | 124,563 | -0.9% |
United | 20,285 | 11,611 | 74.7% | 168,212 | 166,767 | 0.9% |
DHL | 174 | n/a | N/A | 2,062 | n/a | N/A |
Total | 32,501 | 18,747 | 73.4% | 293,695 | 291,330 | 0.8% |
Aug-21 | Aug-20 | % Change | YTD FY2021 | YTD FY2020 | % Change | |
Departures | ||||||
American | 6,640 | 4,089 | 62.4% | 65,648 | 71,358 | -8.0% |
United | 9,228 | 5,960 | 54.8% | 78,196 | 84,222 | -7.2% |
DHL | 122 | n/a | N/A | 1,349 | n/a | N/A |
Total | 15,990 | 10,049 | 59.1% | 145,193 | 155,580 | -6.7% |
Controllable Completion Factor* | ||||||
American | 99.71% | 100.00% | -0.29% | 99.46% | 99.75% | -0.29% |
United | 99.66% | 99.97% | -0.31% | 99.94% | 99.94% | 0.00% |
Total Completion Factor* | ||||||
American | 96.43% | 99.46% | -3.05% | 96.88% | 93.90% | 3.17% |
United | 97.54% | 94.98% | 2.70% | 97.69% | 94.97% | 2.86% |
Operating statistics month over month for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021 and QTD are included in the table below.
Aug-21 | Jul-21 | % Change | QTD FY2021 | QTD FY2020 | % Change | |
Block Hours | ||||||
American | 12,042 | 12,830 | -6.1% | 24,872 | 13,364 | 86.1% |
United | 20,285 | 19,798 | 2.5% | 40,084 | 22,477 | 78.3% |
DHL | 174 | 215 | -19.3% | 389 | n/a | N/A |
Total | 32,501 | 32,843 | -1.0% | 65,345 | 35,842 | 82.3% |
Aug-21 | Jul-21 | % Change | QTD FY2021 | QTD FY2020 | % Change | |
Departures | ||||||
American | 6,640 | 7,074 | -6.1% | 13,714 | 7,665 | 78.9% |
United | 9,228 | 8,984 | 2.7% | 18,212 | 11,663 | 56.2% |
DHL | 122 | 141 | -13.5% | 263 | n/a | N/A |
Total | 15,990 | 16,199 | -1.3% | 32,189 | 19,328 | 66.5% |
Controllable Completion Factor* | ||||||
American | 99.71% | 97.72% | 2.0% | 98.68% | 99.77% | -1.1% |
United | 99.66% | 99.90% | -0.2% | 99.78% | 99.69% | 0.1% |
Total Completion Factor* | ||||||
American | 96.43% | 96.47% | 0.0% | 96.45% | 99.46% | -3.0% |
United | 97.54% | 98.30% | -0.8% | 97.91% | 96.60% | 1.4% |
*Controllable Completion Factor excludes cancellations due to weather and air traffic control
**Total Completion Factor includes all cancellations