Regional carrier Mesa Air, operator of American Eagle and
United Express flights, is planning to go public.
The Phoenix-based carrier stated its intent to do an initial
public offering (IPO) in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Friday.
Mesa is seeking to raise $150 million. The IPO, Mesa said, would happen "as
soon as practicable."
Mesa operates 145 regional aircraft, providing approximately
610 daily departures for American Eagle and United Express. The carrier serves
110 cities and has a significant presence at Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston Bush,
Phoenix and Washington Dulles airports.
Mesa is the fifth largest regional airline in the U.S. Over
the last five years, its share of American's regional flying has increased from
7% to 11% and its share of United's regional flying has increased from 4% to
15%.
"Our capacity purchase agreements shelter us from many
of the elements that cause volatility in airline financial performance,
including fuel prices, variations in ticket prices and fluctuations in number
of passengers," Mesa said in the filing, referencing its deals with
American and United.
Mesa's largest regional competitors are SkyWest; Republic;
American subsidiaries PSA, Piedmont and Envoy; and Delta subsidiary Endeavor.