Release #08.MAG2
October 7, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mesa Air Group, Pilots Reach Tentative Agreement

PHOENIX—Mesa Air Group, Inc. [NASDAQ: MESA] and the pilot leadership, who are represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), reached a Tentative Agreement (TA) after only 10 months of negotiations. This agreement, if ratified by pilots, will resolve many of the scheduling-related issues between Mesa and the pilot group, as well as provide tangible benefits to both parties and their codeshare partners, investors and passengers.

“Our employees are the cornerstone of our business,” said Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa Air Group Chairman and CEO. “The pilots of Mesa are consummate professionals; they continue to go above and beyond to ensure that our operations run as smoothly as possible seven days a week, 365 days a year. We are proud to have come to a mutually-beneficial agreement with the pilot leadership that will help retain and attract the highest caliber of professional airline pilots for years to come. This tentative agreement represents a commitment by the company and the pilot group to work together and continue to get the job done for our partners, investors and passengers.”

“This contract represents a new beginning for our pilots and our company,” said Captain Kevin Wilson, chairman of the ALPA unit at Mesa. “To be a successful, viable company in today’s challenging marketplace, we recognized that we must put aside our differences and develop real-world solutions benefiting both the pilots and the company. We are pleased with management’s willingness to engage with us in earnest discussions throughout the negotiations process, and we hope that this spirit of cooperation continues so that we can focus on building a better airline together.”

The Mesa pilots’ contract became amendable in September 2007. Facing an industry in crisis due to a slowing economy and skyrocketing fuel prices, company management and the pilot leaders decided to commence an expedited negotiation process. This unconventional bargaining method resulted in a short-term agreement with scheduling and quality of life improvements, including more days off, a true definition of scheduled or actual, and implementation of a Preferential Bidding System (PBS) that will allow the pilots to have more control over their schedules.

ALPA pilot leaders will soon begin a series of “roadshows” to inform the pilot group on details of the Tentative Agreement and address any pilot questions. It’s then up to the rank-and-file pilots to vote on whether or not this TA becomes the next collective bargaining agreement. The union plans to commence membership balloting mid-November with results expected by the end of that month.

Mesa currently operates 159 aircraft with over 800 daily system departures to 126 cities, 38 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, the Bahamas 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 4,100 employees and was awarded Regional Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine in 1992 and 2005. Mesa is a member of the Regional Airline Association and Regional Aviation Partners.

ALPA is the bargaining agent for the nearly 1,200 pilots at Mesa Air Group, which includes Mesa and Freedom Airlines. ALPA represents 53,000 pilots at 37 airlines in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org.

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Mesa Air Group, Inc. Contacts   ALPA Contacts
Brian Gillman: 602-685-4051   Lydia Jakub: 602-306-1116, 480-586-5873
Jonathan Ornstein: 602-685-4010   Anya Piazza: 703-481-4457