PHOENIX, June 06, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesa Air Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MESA) (“Mesa” or the “Company”) today provided an update that the Company has completed the sales of six of the 15 surplus CRJ-900 airframes, and ten of the 30 surplus CRJ engines, associated with its Regional Aircraft Securitization Program (“RASPRO”) finance lease. Mesa previously entered into agreements to sell the 15 airframes and 30 engines, respectively, to two separate third parties.

Previously, the RASPRO finance lease carried a $50.4 million obligation for Mesa to purchase the assets at the end of the lease in March 2024. As disclosed with its first quarter fiscal 2024 earnings release, Mesa reached an agreement to fulfill the purchase obligation over the course of May 2024 to September 2024. Based on the aforementioned sale closings and resulting payments to RASPRO, Mesa's purchase obligation has been reduced to $27.3 million as of May 31, 2024. The Company anticipates fully eliminating this obligation in the coming months as it purchases the remaining assets from RASPRO and in turn executes their sales to the respective third parties under agreement.

“Addressing the RASPRO lease has been one of the top priorities for our surplus asset sale efforts over the past year-and-a-half,” said Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa Chairman and CEO. “This is a significant financial obligation that we are putting behind us, and we are increasingly able to prioritize the future of the company for our investors and people. We look forward to enhancing our focus on returning to profitable performance and executing other strategic actions while closing the remaining transactions related to the RASPRO assets in the coming months.”

About Mesa Air Group, Inc.

Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Mesa Air Group, Inc. is the holding company of Mesa Airlines, a regional air carrier providing scheduled passenger service to 79 cities in 36 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Cuba, and Mexico. As of March 31, 2024, Mesa operated a fleet of 80 aircraft, with approximately 263 daily departures. The Company had approximately 2,110 employees. Mesa operates all its flights as United Express pursuant to the terms of a capacity purchase agreement entered into with United Airlines, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “might”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current beliefs, assumptions, and expectations regarding future events, which in turn are based on information currently available to the Company. By their nature, forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to risks and uncertainties. A variety of factors could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements. For additional information about factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s filings with the SEC, including the risk factors contained in its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company’s other subsequent filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws.

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