Embraer 175 Mesa Airlines operated for United Express
Registration: N87318 Type: E170-200LR Engines: 2 × GE CF34-8E5 Serial Number: 17000443 First flight: Dec 16, 2014
Mesa Airlines is an American regional carrier with a history spanning more than four decades. The company was incorporated in 1983 under the name Mesa Air Shuttle, Inc., though the group's founding year is generally considered to be 1980. Since 1998, its headquarters have been located in Phoenix, Arizona.
At its peak, the airline cut an impressive figure: in June 2022, Mesa operated 167 aircraft, making over 457 daily departures to 120 cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Cuba. The company did not fly under its own brand, but instead operated under capacity purchase agreements — meaning it flew on behalf of major partners, primarily American Airlines and United Airlines.
The final years, however, proved extremely difficult. Mesa lost its American Eagle flying contract in 2023 and wound down its CRJ-900 fleet. By 2025, the carrier had been reduced to a single partner and a single aircraft type. Its Embraer 175s now flew exclusively for United Airlines.
Financial pressures continued to mount: Mesa was posting losses and was forced to restructure its loan agreement with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The denouement came in April 2025, when Mesa Air Group and Republic Airways Holdings announced a full merger, with the combined company taking the name Republic Airways Holdings Inc. and retaining its NASDAQ listing under the ticker RJET.
In November 2025, Mesa shareholders approved the deal, and the CEO who had led the airline since the late 1990s received a severance package in excess of $7 million. With that, the story of one of the last independent regional brands from the era of American aviation deregulation came to a close.
Today, Mesa Airlines exists as a subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings, operating a fleet of Embraer 175s under the United Express banner and serving 73 cities across the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Cuba — with routes connecting primarily to United's hubs in Houston and Washington.
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