newco didn't happen until the 2005 concessions.

It had nothing to do with the 1998 strike which was at least partly over allowing mesaba to have 36 ARJs limited to 69 seats. CRJ-200s were limited to 44 seats except for some that were coupled to the mainline aircraft count that could be 50 seats. That was undone in bankruptcy, and newco was a major sticking point in the concessions negotiations. As it turns out, the newco (compass was the final name) planes have far more range and viability than the dc-9s they replaced.