Mesaba Airlines' Eagan office to close

Mesaba Airlines' main office in Eagan will close near the end of the year, its parent company has announced - affecting nearly 200 employees.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp., based in Memphis, notified Eagan's mayor last week that Mesaba's headquarters at 1000 Blue Gentian Road would shut down on Dec. 26, or "within 14 days." Both companies are regional carriers for Delta Air Lines.

"We are going from three airline operating certificates to two...Technically, employees would be changing companies, so you have to terminate with one company before going to another," Joe Williams, Pinnacle Airlines spokesman, said Friday in an email.

Williams said roughly 193 employees would be affected, though 35 had accepted new jobs at Pinnacle as of Friday.

Williams said only those who chose to work under new terms for Pinnacle at an existing training center in Eagan would remain, though it was unclear how many positions were available. It also was unclear Friday how many open positions existed in Memphis and whether there would be a net loss of employees nationwide.

Williams said all of Mesaba's operations-based employees would be offered jobs with Pinnacle.

"A number of employees are still deciding whether to accept offers with Pinnacle, so we won't know the final number while the window is still open for them to respond," he said

Williams said the company would have a tally of how many employees chose to accept new jobs with Pinnacle by the end of the year. Eagan city administrator Tom Hedges said the letter to the mayor stated that employees had until Dec. 23 to decide.

Pinnacle also will keep a pilot and maintenance base at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Williams said.

Memphis-based Pinnacle acquired Mesaba from Delta Airlines on July 1, 2010, for $62 million.

"Founded in 1944, Mesaba is the longest-flying regional airline in the United States. It will remain headquartered in Eagan, Minn., under its current management team," a Pinnacle news release stated that month.

But on Friday, Williams said, "This is part of our transition and integration plan announced when we acquired Mesaba in July 2010."

Tad Vezner can be reached at 651-228-5461.