Mesa Airlines could complete a public offering as one of a number of options to raise liquidity in the future, the
airline’s CEO has said.
Jonathan Ornstein said the carrier is assessing a number of different options. He said: "One of our big goals as we go
forward is to continue to grow and finance the business and provide liquidity to our investors, and we’ve looked at a
number of different transactions to do that."
Ornstein said that the airline’s credentials are strong enough to support a public offering, but noted current difficulties
in the market. He said: "We think we have the numbers to support going public, but the environment has been
difficult."
Mesa Airlines was formerly a public company, having completed its initial public offering (IPO) in 1987, when it
operated 11 aircraft. However, in 2010 the airline entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy and emerged from the process as a
private airline.
The airline was awarded a Deal of the Year award on Monday night at the annual Airfinance Journal Deals of the
Year Awards ceremony. The winning deal was Mesa Airlines’ $245.9 million inaugural enhanced equipment trust
certificate (EETC), which closed last year. The deal prefunded 10 E175 aircraft that the airline had on order.