United Express-Mesa Airlines Bombardier CRJ700 (CL-600-2C10) N521LR (msn 10261) CLT (Bruce Drum), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Mesa Air Group (Phoenix) as expected, yesterday (March 1) emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Mesa Air Group’s Plan of Reorganization became effective on March 1, allowing the company to emerge from its reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Mesa and its related subsidiaries entered bankruptcy protection on January 5, 2010 and Mesa’s exit from bankruptcy protection in 13 months places it among the fastest reorganizations in aviation history.

The Company’s restructuring accomplishments included:

• Elimination of 100 excess aircraft and associated leases and debt which contributed to the deleveraging of Mesa’s balance sheet in the approximate amount of $700 million in capitalized leases and $50 million in debt;
• Restructuring of aircraft leases and financings for Mesa’s remaining CRJ200 and DHC-8 fleets resulting in flexibility, no long term lease exposure and lower costs on the CRJ200 50-seat regional jet aircraft;
• Emerging as a private company that will issue four new series of notes, shares of common stock, and/or warrants to purchase shares of its common stock to its creditors in exchange for their claims in the Chapter 11 proceedings;
• Extending the term of the code-share agreement with US Airways through September 2015.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Please click on the photo for additional information about the United Express-Mesa operation.

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