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Posts Tagged ‘Mesa’

Mesa bankruptcy

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008

Warnings that go! airline’s parent company may have to file for bankruptcy protection this summer is more bad news for the interisland market already reeling from the recent shutdown of Aloha Airlines.

Interisland fares are up by more than 32 percent since the March 31 closure of Aloha and the loss of another carrier would mean even higher prices and further economic turmoil for the hotels, car rental agencies and other tourism-related companies on the Neighbor Islands.

But don’t expect Mesa to pull out of Hawaii on its own accord.

In a news release last week, Mesa stressed that it’s here for the long haul and boasted that it’s having its best month ever. Bookings for this summer also look strong, the company said.

For Mesa, the development of its own brands such as go! and its China joint venture Kunpeng Airlines is a major part of its future growth.

Right now, most of the company’s revenues come from providing regional service for major domestic carriers like United Airlines, US Airways and Delta Air Lines.

As the potential loss of the $20 million-a-month Delta contract shows, the company is at the mercy of the big carriers and to major downturns in the U.S. airline business.

But all bets are off if Mesa winds up in a highly contested bankruptcy.

As in the Hawaiian Airlines bankruptcy, creditors could seek the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee to run the affairs of the airline.

That trustee may not place the same value on a Hawaii airline whose operations lost $20 million even before it had to fork over more than $52.5 million to settle a lawsuit by Hawaiian Airlines for misusing confidential business information.

Mesa’s Stock

Monday, May 12th, 2008

The stock of go! airline’s parent company has risen 12 percent since it settled a lawsuit by Hawaiian Airlines. Is the worst over?

Shares of Mesa Air Group closed at 74 cents on the Nasdaq market on Friday, which is up from 66 cents on April 30 when Mesa announced its deal with Hawaiian.

The company’s stock hit an all-time low of 45 cents per share on April 24 and is off more than 85 percent since last October when U.S. Bankruptcy Judge ordered Mesa to pay $80 million to Hawaiian for misusing confidential business data.

Wall Street analysts are mixed about the company. Two consider Mesa’s stock a hold while a third — Lily Ng of Merrill Lynch — has a sell recommendation.

Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities stopped covering Mesa on April 11 after Mesa’s market capitalization fell below $20 million.

Despite the Hawaiian settlement, Mesa faces significant challenges.

At its annual meeting on Tuesday, Mesa is expected to ask shareholders for approval to issue new stock. The new shares are to help cover a $37.8 million payment due to Mesa’s bondholders next month.

Mesa did receive some breathing room from its recent settlement with Hawaiian. By agreeing to pay Hawaiian $52.5 million, Mesa gets $37.5 million back from the $80 million bond that it posted after it lost the ruling.

That amount very close to the amount due to bondholders.

But there are other troubles.

Mesa faces the potential loss of a $20 million-a-month contract to fly regional routes on the Mainland for Delta Air Lines. That contract generates about 18 percent of Mesa’s $1.3 billion in annual revenues.

Mesa has similar contracts with United Airlines and US Airways and a merger that’s being discussed between those two legacy carriers would be disastrous for Mesa.

And don’t forget Aloha Airlines’ lawsuit. Aloha may no longer be operating but its court-appointed bankruptcy trustee has a duty to pursue the local airline’s anti-trust suit against Mesa. The potential award from such a lawsuit could be much higher than $80 million.