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Pinnacle will fly small jets for NWA
The 10-year agreement could clear the way for Mesaba to fly a fleet of larger regional jets for Northwest Airlines.
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Northwest Airlines on Thursday revealed that it has chosen Pinnacle Airlines of Memphis to operate 141 small regional jets, and that action may clear a path for Eagan-based Mesaba Airlines to operate 36 new large jets for Northwest.
Northwest passengers are accustomed to flying on planes operated by Pinnacle and Mesaba flight crews, but Northwest's relationship with those carriers became murky after it put regional flying up for new bids a year ago.
It now appears that Northwest has chosen to forge an ongoing partnership with the two familiar regional carriers.
Pinnacle announced late Thursday that it had reached a 10-year agreement with Northwest to operate 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets, commonly referred to as CRJs. Pinnacle will retain the 124 planes it has been operating. Northwest also plans to allocate 17 more planes to Pinnacle but will have the legal option to remove those jets from Pinnacle's fleet if the smaller company's management fails to reach a new contract with pilots by March 31.
Wakefield Gordon, chairman of the Pinnacle pilots union, said he was pleased that Northwest chose Pinnacle over other competitors to fly the 50-seat CRJs.
The union's executive council "is hopeful that with this cloud dissipating from around our company that management will take this opportunity to join with us and negotiate reasonable and fair compensation," Gordon said Thursday night.
As the bankrupt Northwest moves closer to filing its plan of reorganization, its approach to regional jet flying is becoming much clearer.
Northwest and Mesaba officials continued talks Thursday about Northwest acquiring the regional airline, Mesaba spokeswoman Elizabeth Costello said. The airlines confirmed late Wednesday that a transaction was being discussed.
"Northwest is interested in becoming an equity holder in Mesaba, and that would imply to me that there is some more flying for us in the future," Tom Wychor, chairman of the Mesaba pilots union, said Thursday.
Only two months ago, Mesaba's creditors committee was threatening to file a motion to liquidate the bankrupt carrier if it did not reach concessionary labor deals with its big unions. Mesaba's pilots, flight attendants and mechanics ratified new labor pacts in late November.
With Pinnacle tapped to fly the 50-seat jets, the newly streamlined Mesaba would appear to be well-positioned to secure the three dozen 76-seat regional jets that Northwest intends to acquire from Bombardier, particularly if it were to become a unit of Northwest.
Just a few weeks ago, Northwest finished phasing out 69-seat Avro jets from Mesaba's fleet. Mesaba had flown 35 Avros for Northwest.
Neither Northwest nor Mesaba would comment Thursday on whether Mesaba will win the competition for the 76-seat CRJs.
Northwest spokesman Bill Mellon said Thursday that the carrier also is moving forward with plans to establish Compass, a subsidiary that will operate large regional jets by the middle of 2007. Northwest previously said it plans to acquire 36 Embraer jets, which seat 76 passengers, for Compass.
"The creation of Compass and the potential ownership of Mesaba by Northwest are part of our strategy to address, in part, our regional aircraft-flying requirements," Mellon said.
MAIR Holdings Inc. is the Minneapolis-based parent of Mesaba. Its stock rose 19 percent Thursday on speculation that Mesaba may be purchased by Northwest.
Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709 • lfedor@startribune.com
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