Mesaba Parent Firm Loses $2.5 Million

Minneapolis-based MAIR Holdings, parent of Mesaba Airlines, reported Tuesday that it lost $2.5 million in the second quarter of its fiscal 2007, which ended in September.

MAIR attributed much of its net loss to expenses associated with Mesaba's bankruptcy and a $1.2 million net loss at its Big Sky subsidiary.

Mesaba operates regional flights for Northwest Airlines. Mesaba reported a net loss of $9.1 million and an operating loss of $6 million for the quarter.

This month, pilots, flight attendants and mechanics at Mesaba will vote on concessionary agreements recently negotiated with management.

During a conference call with analysts Tuesday, Bob Weil, MAIR's chief financial officer, said those labor agreements would allow Mesaba to be "very competitive" in bidding against other regional carriers for new contracts.

He declined to contrast how the tentative agreements compare with compensation costs at Pinnacle Airlines, Northwest's other partner for regional flying. Mesaba, Pinnacle and other regionals are competing to secure the rights to fly 50-seat jets for Northwest.

Today, Pinnacle pilots will conduct informational picketing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

"Pinnacle management has begun putting an inordinate amount of pressure on the pilots and their families in a misguided attempt to force a substandard deal with pilots," the Pinnacle branch of the Air Line Pilots Association said.

Pinnacle, based in Memphis, has 1,244 pilots.

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