American Airlines and regional airline Mesa are severing ties

Mesa Airlines’ CEO said Saturday that the regional carrier will wind down its flying for American Airlines and that it is close to an agreement to fly those jets for United Airlines. Mesa’s CEO Jonathan Ornstein told employees in a note: “We are excited to announce we have negotiated a wind down of our operations with American and are finalizing a new agreement with United which would transition all CRJ900s currently flying for American Eagle to United Express.” United declined to comment. Derek Kerr, American’s CFO and president of American’s regional brand American Eagle, told staff on Saturday that Mesa and American will wind down their flying agreement, citing American’s concerns about Mesa’s financial and operational problems which are tied to a rise in costs and the industry’s pilot shortage. “As a result, we have concerns about Mesa’s ability to be a reliable partner for American going forward,” Kerr said in an employee memo. “American and Mesa agree the best way to address these concerns is to wind down our agreement.” The final Mesa flight for American will be on Apr. 3, though American is slashing Mesa flights in March, Kerr said in his note. Large carriers like American, United and Delta routinely contract regional airlines to fly many shorter routes, accounting for roughly half of departures, though that varies by airline.<br/>