PHOENIX, July 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mesa Air Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:
MESA) (the "Company") announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
11th Circuit has affirmed the preliminary injunction against Delta Air Lines
("Delta"), which enjoined Delta from terminating Freedom Airlines' Delta
Connection Agreement covering certain ERJ-145 aircraft (the "Agreement").
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990210/LAW065)
On May 29, 2008 the United States District Court for the Northern District
of Georgia issued a preliminary injunction against Delta enjoining it from
terminating the Agreement in place between Freedom Airlines and Delta. Delta
had sought to terminate the Agreement based upon allegations that Freedom had
failed to meet certain operational performance requirements. In affirming the
District Court's decision, the Court of Appeals noted that Freedom had shown a
substantial likelihood of success on its claims and that the District Court
found testimony of Delta's primary witness to be "non-credible." The Order
granting a preliminary injunction included the finding that Delta acted in
"bad faith" in its attempt to terminate the Agreement. The preliminary
injunction will remain in place while the case proceeds in the District Court.
With both the District Court and now the Court of Appeals finding that Mesa
has demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on its claims, Mesa looks
forward to having this matter fully and finally resolved at trial.
Commenting on today's ruling, Mesa Chairman and CEO, Jonathan Ornstein
said, "We are very pleased with the Court's Order affirming the injunction
issued by the District Court. We reaffirm our commitment to offering the very
best service to Delta and our Delta Connection passengers. We would also like
to thank our dedicated employees who have continued to provide outstanding
service through this unfortunate case."
Freedom Airlines currently operates 22 50-seat ERJ-145 aircraft for Delta
as Delta Connection.
Mesa currently operates 150 aircraft with approximately 800 daily system
departures to 110 cities, 38 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and
Mexico. Mesa operates as Delta Connection, US Airways Express and United
Express under contractual agreements with Delta Air Lines, US Airways and
United Airlines, respectively, and independently as Mesa Airlines and go!. In
June 2006 Mesa launched inter-island Hawaiian service as go!. This operation
links Honolulu to the neighbor island airports of Hilo, Kahului, Kona and
Lihue. The Company, founded by Larry and Janie Risley in New Mexico in 1982,
has approximately 3,700 employees and was awarded Regional Airline of the Year
by Air Transport World magazine in 1992 and 2005.
http://www.mesa-air.com
SOURCE Mesa Air Group, Inc.
07/02/2009
CONTACT: Brian S. Gillman, EVP & General Counsel of Mesa Air Group,
Inc., +1-602-685-4052, brian.gillman@mesa-air.com
Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990210/LAW065
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PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Web Site: http://www.mesa-air.com
