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Mesa issues shutdown schedule for Air Midwest

Old 05-15-2008, 04:07 PM
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Default Mesa issues shutdown schedule for Air Midwest

Mesa issues shutdown schedule for Air Midwest
Mesa Air Group made it official this morning that it will shut down its Air Midwest subsidiary. In a press release just in from Mesa, the company details the shutdown dates for the cities served by Air Midwest. The Associated Press writes that Mesa will end service to cities throughout 10 states "because soaring fuel prices and low demand made keeping the operation running impossible. That includes cities served by Air Midwest under the federal government's Essential Air Service (EAS) program, which subsidizes flights on routes that would otherwise be unprofitable." Mesa says Air Midwest was losing money on those routes, even with the EAS subsidies.
Mesa says Air Midwest will shutdown on the following schedule: East Coast operations will end May 23, affecting Lewisburg, W. Va.; Dubois, Pa.; Franklin, Pa.; and Athens, Ga. West Coast operations end May 31, affecting Ely, Nev.; Merced, Calif.; Visalia, Calif.; Prescott, Ariz.; Kingman, Ariz.; and Farmington, N.M. Midwest operations cease on June 30, affecting Columbia, Mo.; Joplin, Mo.; Kirksville, Mo.; Grand Island, Neb.; McCook, Neb.; and Little Rock, Ark. Air Midwest flies as a regional carrier for bigger airlines, notably for US Airways.
"We are extremely saddened this decision has become necessary; Air Midwest has a long and proud history and has served millions of passengers in its 43 years of operation," Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein says in a statement. "Unfortunately under the current economic conditions there was no foreseeable way to achieve sustained profitability. Even with subsidies from the DOT, Air Midwest has been unable to sustain profitability for the last several years. While this was an extremely difficult decision, and one that the company worked tirelessly to avoid, we are working diligently to minimize the impact this decision will have on Air Midwest's passengers and employees."
http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/
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Old 05-15-2008, 04:10 PM
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I saw 2 GO! airplanes when we landed at CAE today... is GO! next... Freedom... Mesa?


Why are there CRJ's from Hawaii in South Carolina?
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Old 05-15-2008, 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by groovinaviator View Post
I saw 2 GO! airplanes when we landed at CAE today... is GO! next... Freedom... Mesa?


Why are there CRJ's from Hawaii in South Carolina?
Mesa does some heavy maintenance in CAE. Some 200's have been repod from PHX to CAE the last several weeks, Including ac in US and GO! colors.
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Old 05-15-2008, 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted by hdale View Post
Mesa does some heavy maintenance in CAE. Some 200's have been repod from PHX to CAE the last several weeks, Including ac in US and GO! colors.

Seems like a long way to fly for Mx. I would hate to be that repo pilot... that has to be about an 8 hour flight or worse. Can a CRJ even make it from Hawaii to the mainland without extra fuel tanks installed? I should know the answer to that...
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Old 05-15-2008, 04:23 PM
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Originally Posted by groovinaviator View Post
Seems like a long way to fly for Mx. I would hate to be that repo pilot... that has to be about an 8 hour flight or worse. Can a CRJ even make it from Hawaii to the mainland without extra fuel tanks installed? I should know the answer to that...

Most of the original GO planes are due for heavy maint. I think they replace gear in CAE. Yes they do need extra tanks to make it to the mainland from Hawaii. Ive flown with two CAPT recently that have been JR assigned to part 91 some 200's to CAE from PHX once they've finished trips. And no they dont go straight from Hawaii to CAE, they stop over in PHX for other work. Dont worry though, I'm sure it is very cost efficient to repo ac from hawaii to the East coast for maint.
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Old 05-15-2008, 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted by hdale View Post
...Yes they do need extra tanks to make it to the mainland from Hawaii.

Where/how are these tanks installed? Do you know their capacity?
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Old 05-15-2008, 04:29 PM
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Originally Posted by groovinaviator View Post
Where/how are these tanks installed? Do you know their capacity?

Im not sure of the capacity but the seats are removed and the tanks are put in the main cabin. The five birds that went to china took the overland route through canada, alaska and russia and then on too china.
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Old 05-15-2008, 04:38 PM
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Originally Posted by groovinaviator View Post
Seems like a long way to fly for Mx. I would hate to be that repo pilot... that has to be about an 8 hour flight or worse. Can a CRJ even make it from Hawaii to the mainland without extra fuel tanks installed? I should know the answer to that...
Seriously??? Yes, you should know that as a CRJ F/O!!!
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Old 05-16-2008, 06:59 PM
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Wow, Ive been hearing it was going to happen for a while but never seen a time line...I guess they might be serious this time.

I wish everyone over there the best of luck, regardless of the decision to switch certificates or duck and run.

I enjoyed working with Almost everyone there, even some of the schedulers Take care guys and better luck at the next stop.
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Old 05-17-2008, 06:39 AM
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Originally Posted by groovinaviator View Post
Seems like a long way to fly for Mx. I would hate to be that repo pilot... that has to be about an 8 hour flight or worse. Can a CRJ even make it from Hawaii to the mainland without extra fuel tanks installed? I should know the answer to that...
You're the Crj pilot, you tell us?
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