Mesa Air finalizes capacity agreement with United Airlines

The company states: "On December 27, 2022, we finalized an amendment and restatement of our capacity purchase agreement with United Airlines. Under the agreement, Mesa will add up to 38 CRJ-900 aircraft, dependent on the number E-175s Mesa is operating. Mesa will begin flying CRJ-900s on behalf of United in March of 2023 and utilize all of the crew and maintenance locations currently operated for American Airlines in Phoenix, Dallas, El Paso, and Louisville, as well as open a CRJ-900 crew base in Houston and a pilot base in Denver. As part of the final agreement, United will also pay Mesa increased block-hour rates to cover the incremental pilot wage increases instituted by Mesa in September 2022, which will remain in effect through September 2025. United will receive a 10% equity position in Mesa and a seat on the Mesa Board of Directors. Additionally, on December 27, 2022, we finalized an agreement with United for a $41.2 million liquidity facility, including the refinancing of $15.7 million outstanding under our CIT revolving credit facility maturing December 31, 2022, and an additional $25.5 million term loan, of which $15.0 million is forgivable if Mesa achieves certain aircraft utilization thresholds. The collateral for the loan is a combination of aircraft parts and a pledge of our equity investment in Archer Aviation, Inc. and Heart Aerospace Incorporated. United also agreed to purchase 30 GE-CF34-8 spare engines from Mesa for $80 million, which is expected to provide over $50 million of net cash proceeds and close in Q1 of 2023."