History
Part 1 – The Genesis Years
Like many of its commuter airline peers, Mesaba Aviation got its start as a small-town Fixed Base Operator (FBO). In 1944, after serving as a flight instructor during World War II, Gordon “Gordy” Newstrom was recruited to operate a small flight school in Coleraine, Minnesota. Located in the heart of northern Minnesota’s Mesaba Iron Range, the company took on the name meaning “Mighty Eagle” in the Native American Ojibwa language.
Newstrom’s school operation expanded into passenger charter flights when the Blandin Paper Company, located in nearby Grand Rapids, MN, became a frequent customer. In 1949, Mesaba established a second base at Grand Rapids (GPZ). Soon thereafter, the entire business moved to GPZ after Newstrom’s hangar in Coleraine was destroyed by fire.
Mesaba remained an FBO until 1970, when Newstrom sold the company to the Halverson family of Duluth. Joining the growing ranks of commuter airlines, Mesaba initiated scheduled service between GPZ and Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport (MSP) in February 1973 with a six-seat Cessna 310. By early 1975, Mesaba was operating a network of flights from MSP to Grand Rapids, Eveleth, and Ely, MN, using a 15-seat Beech 99.
Over the next few years, Mesaba pursued creative approaches to improve its viability, such as a Commuter Air Carrier Demonstration Project grant from the Upper Great Lakes Regional Commission (UGLRC) to experiment with more localized service from Ely to Duluth, MN.
Mesaba also initiated service in Iowa between Spencer and Des Moines in May 1976 under a revenue guarantee contract with the Spencer community. After Mesaba increased its fees, the Spencer community entered into an agreement with another carrier.
Bolstered by the financial assistance from these programs, Mesaba transported over 18,000 passengers during 1976. Without outside support, traffic in 1978 fell to less than 6,000 passengers – and Mesaba was up for sale.
Foreseeing an opportunity to profitably serve smaller cities that would likely lose some or all service because of airline deregulation, the father-son team of Lowell, Robert, and Philip Swenson purchased Mesaba in October 1978. The elder Swenson, Lowell, had flown B-24 bombers in World War II and retained a love for flying. He achieved great business success by building small Arctic Enterprises of Thief River Falls, MN into a leader in the snowmobile industry with its Arctic Cat line. Upon assuming operational control of the airline, Lowell’s sons Robert and Phillip took over day-to-day operations. Robert, with an economics degree and experience as a pilot and flight instructor, was named as President and Phillip as Vice President. At the time, Mesaba’s scheduled service consisted of flights on a single route from Grand Rapids to MSP.
Initial growth was slow as Mesaba waited for the larger airlines to vacate their smaller subsidized markets in the newly deregulated environment. In the meantime, Mesaba experimented with flying to smaller unserved cities in Minnesota including Detroit Lakes, Alexandria, and Baudette. By the summer of 1981, Mesaba’s entire schedule consisted of two daily weekday flights on a linear MSP-Brainerd, MN-Grand Rapids routing using 15-seat Beech 99s.
The anticipated transfer of smaller markets from larger carriers to smaller commuter partners under deregulation started in October 1981, when Mesaba was chosen to replace Republic on the route from MSP to Mankato, Fairmont, and Worthington, MN. Another opportunity to replace Republic surfaced in April 1982 for a trio of South Dakota cities – Brookings, Huron, and Mitchell. Mesaba initiated this service to MSP under a sub-contract agreement with Republic under the new Essential Air Service (EAS) subsidy program until it was selected as the full replacement carrier in its own right. To finish out 1982, Mesaba initiated EAS flights from MSP to Mason City and Fort Dodge, IA, this time replacing Ozark Airlines. These flights continued on to Omaha, NE.
As it worked closely with Republic on several route transitions, Mesaba entered into a joint-ticketing and baggage agreement with the larger carrier in early 1983 to facilitate smooth connections at MSP. Over the course of the year, Mesaba expanded to the South Dakota cities of Pierre and Sioux Falls, flown on a subsidy-free basis. This route was soon extended further west to Rapid City, SD. Additional subsidized EAS flying was added to Jamestown and Devils Lake, ND in December 1983.
Looking to its future, Mesaba became a publicly traded company in 1983 when it sold two million shares of common stock and began trading under the ticker symbol MAIR.
The next few years would be transformational for Mesaba. In April 1984, the airline added its first 44-seat Fokker F-27 to the fleet. With nearly three times the number of seats as the Beech 99, along with cabin service and pressurization, the F-27 was deployed to the longer-range and larger traffic generating stations on the system like Rapid City, Pierre, and Sioux Falls. Outgrowing its facilities in Grand Rapids, Mesaba moved its headquarters to a former North Central hangar at MSP.
Part 2 – Airlink Rising 1984-1999
By mid-1984, Mesaba was a publicly traded company with about 150 employees. Its fleet consisted of seven Beech 99s and two recently acquired used Fokker F-27s serving 17 cities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nebraska.
In December 1984, foregoing its partnership with financially-troubled Republic, Mesaba joined forces with Northwest Airlines to become the first fully-integrated Northwest Airlink carrier.
The new Airlink logo soon began to appear on Mesaba’s aircraft, and its flights were published in the Northwest timetable. Mesaba’s gate at MSP was moved to the Red Concourse, at ground-level gates, to be closer to Northwest. It would relocate again in 1985 to the end of the recently-extended Gold Concourse that exclusively served Northwest flights.
Meanwhile, Republic was establishing its own commuter feed operation at MSP by partnering with Simmons Airlines and newcomer Express Airlines I. Simmons primarily fed the Detroit hub, but a few flights from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula markets reached MSP. Express I initiated MSP service in December 1985 and grew rapidly with factory-fresh 19-seat Jetstream 31 and 30-seat Saab 340 aircraft. For the next few months, Mesaba/Northwest Airlink and Express I/Republic Express would compete to capture small-community feed for their respective mainline partners at MSP. By mid-1986, they were head-to-head in six markets.
The end of the line for the Beech 99 fleet came in 1986 when Mesaba placed the first of its new 19-seat Fairchild Metros into service. Compared to the Beech, the Metro was faster, pressurized so it could fly higher, and had more space to carry baggage and freight. Keeping in touch with its down-home roots, delivery of the first Metro was celebrated by tapping a keg of beer.
However, some of Mesaba’s smallest markets would not make the transition to the Metros. The subsidized Essential Air Service (EAS) route to Mankato, Fairmont, and Worthington was transitioned to Bemidji Aviation in April 1986, who used 9-seat Beech Queen Airs. Also, service was suspended to Mason City and Fort Dodge, with replacement non-subsidized service being provided by Express I/Republic Express.
On October 1, 1986, the flight operations of Northwest and Republic were merged into a combined Northwest. This meant that Mesaba and Express I were now on the same team. The Northwest network planners set out to rationalize the Airlink system and assign one carrier to each feed market.
The year 1988 would be monumental for Mesaba. At home in MSP, it outgrew the former North Central hangar and constructed a new 80,000-square foot headquarters building and maintenance hangar. In early March, Mesaba carried its one-millionth passenger – a feat 15 years in the making. Meanwhile, Northwest’s code-sharing partner in Detroit, Simmons Airlines, transitioned to fly exclusively as an American Eagle carrier at Chicago. In August, Northwest chose Mesaba as its replacement Airlink carrier at Detroit. The airline moved quickly, and Detroit flights started in December. Finally, to manage growth and set the stage for future diversification, shareholders approved the formation of a holding company named AirTran Corporation, with Mesaba being its only subsidiary.
By the spring of 1989, Mesaba was flying to 33 cities, including 11 new markets from Detroit, with a sharp uptick in passenger traffic. In order to accommodate growth, additional F-27s and Metroliners were added to fleet. A new maintenance hangar was constructed in Detroit, and Mesaba also purchased the maintenance facility at Central Wisconsin Airport (Wausau/Stevens Point) that was previously used by Midstate Airlines.
The year 1989 proved to be one of tremendous growth for Mesaba. It doubled the number of passengers carried over the previous year, doubled its employee count, and more than doubled the number of aircraft operated. To put the growth in perspective, Mesaba carried its two-millionth passenger in late 1989. While it had taken Mesaba 15 years to carry its first million, the next million was carried in 15 months.
Even as the company was growing rapidly, Mesaba’s management sought to create an employee-centric culture that focused on safety first, followed by reliability and profitability. CEO Rob Swenson was type-rated in the F-27 and enjoyed flying the line with crews. The company was also known for throwing memorable employee Christmas parties.
At the dawn of the 1990s, Mesaba operated 15 F-27s, with a mix of 44 and 48-seat variants, and 16 Metroliners. A third fleet type was added in 1992 when Mesaba introduced the 37-passenger De Havilland Canada Dash 8 into service. The rugged Dash 8 was particularly well-suited for Mesaba’s flights to smaller rural airports, and the fleet grew to 25 aircraft by 1993. This allowed a gradual phase-out of the aging F-27 fleet, which was fully retired by September 1995.
Seeking to enhance its base of equity capital, the AirTran Board announced the sale of $10 million of its outstanding common stock in a private placement to Carl Pohlad, a Minneapolis banker, investor, and owner of the Minnesota Twins franchise. This investment made Pohlad the largest shareholder of the company. Reflecting Pohlad’s growing influence at AirTran, he was appointed to the Board of Directors in February 1995.
As its relationship with Northwest was maturing, several investors in Mesaba’s holding company sought to diversify beyond its single commuter code-sharing assignment with Northwest. In October 1994, AirTran Corporation purchased Orlando FL-based Conquest Sun Airlines, renamed it AirTran Airways, and began operating Boeing 737-200 aircraft from Orlando as a low-fare carrier.
However, Northwest objected to this arrangement where its commuter partner was establishing a new low-fare jet competitor. As a negotiated settlement, AirTran Airways was spun off as an independent low-fare airline, and Rob Swenson left Mesaba to become its Chairman and CEO. During 1994, Mesaba transported over 1.4 million revenue passengers – a far cry from the less than 6,000 passengers sixteen years earlier when Swenson took the reins.
After Swenson’s departure, AirTran Corporation was re-named Mesaba Holdings, Inc. and Northwest made a 30% investment for effective operational control of Mesaba. Bryan Bedford was named as Mesaba’s new CEO in July 1995, coming from east-coast commuter Business Express. In another move, Carl Pohlad ascended to the Chairmanship of Mesaba Holdings.
With this organizational shakeup in the rearview mirror, Mesaba focused on building its Airlink operation. In March 1996, Mesaba announced that it would standardize its turboprop fleet with the 34-seat Saab 340 aircraft. Saab deliveries started in June 1996, with two new aircraft arriving each month. The last of the Metroliners were retired by July 1997, and the Dash 8s were phased out by the end of 1998.
Mesaba’s momentum continued in October 1996 when it announced a separate agreement with Northwest to begin operating pure-jet Avro RJ85 aircraft configured with 69 seats, including a first-class cabin. The first RJ85 went into service in June 1997, the first of 36 that Mesaba would fly as “Northwest JetLink”. In August, NWA consolidated its MSP Airlink flying by transferring the remaining Express I Saab 340 routes to Mesaba.
In 1998 Mesaba celebrated its 25th anniversary of providing scheduled service by placing a new Saab in service with a commemorative “Silver City Flyer” paint scheme. As the icing on its cake, Mesaba was named “Regional Airline of the Year” by Air Transport World Magazine.
Mesaba experienced another change of leadership in August 1999, when Bryan Bedford resigned to take the helm at Chautauqua Airlines. Paul Foley, an executive from cargo carrier Atlas Air, was named as the replacement President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mesaba closed out the 1990s on a high note with about 3,000 employees and a fleet of 100 aircraft – 26 flagship RJ85s and 74 Saab 340s –flying over 900 daily departures from Northwest hubs to 98 cities in 23 states and three Canadian provinces.
However, storm clouds were brewing on a turbulent horizon for Mesaba – starting with labor unrest.
Part 3 – Turbulence 2000-2012
Contact negotiations between Mesaba’s management and its pilot union covering pay, job security, and work rules began in June 2001. An agreement proved to be elusive, so a federal mediator joined the talks in August 2002. In the midst of the labor negotiations, John Spanjers joined Mesaba as President and Chief Operating Officer. Adding another factor into the mix, Mesaba Holdings, Inc. purchased Montana-based commuter Big Sky Airlines in December 2002 as a growth vehicle to diversify the operation with other major airline partners.
The standoff between management and the pilot union came to a head in December 2003 when the National Mediation Board declared the negotiations at an impasse, starting the clock on a 30-day cooling off period before pilots could strike on January 9, 2004. In anticipation, Mesaba cancelled all flights on January 10 so aircraft could be positioned at its maintenance bases. The two sides reached a tentative agreement the following day, narrowly averting a strike and allowing flights to resume. In addition to increased pay and improved work rules, the agreement included a provision that subsidiary Big Sky Airlines would not fly aircraft with more than 19 seats unless piloted by Mesaba crews.
With the new pilot contract in place, the situation at Mesaba stabilized for a season. In April 2005, its service agreement to operate RJ85 and Saabs for Northwest was extended for another ten years. The new contract also included a provision for Mesaba to operate 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft.
However, with the ink barely dry on the new airline service agreement, Northwest filed for bankruptcy protection in September 2005. When Northwest withheld payments and disclosed intentions to curtail RJ85 flying, Mesaba had little choice but to follow in its benefactor’s footsteps and invoke bankruptcy protection itself. Mesaba again sought large concessions from its workforce, reversing the labor peace gained in 2004. The RJ85 fleet’ was phased out, with ‘s last flight occurred on December 1, 2006, leaving Mesaba with a fleet of 49 Saabs.
After reaching agreements to cut worker pay and benefits, Mesaba emerged from bankruptcy in April 2007 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of NWA. It began to grow again as Northwest assigned new 76-seat CRJ-900 aircraft, along with 50-seat CRJ-200s, to the Mesaba fleet. The sale of Mesaba to Northwest led to the dissolution of Mesaba Holdings in July 2008 and the liquidation of its Big Sky Airlines subsidiary.
Mesaba’s world changed yet again with the merger of Northwest and Delta in October 2008. As a result, Mesaba became a Delta Connection carrier. However, Delta’s philosophy of ownership of regional affiliates was different than Northwest, and it sold Mesaba to competitor and fellow Delta Connection carrier Pinnacle Airlines (the former Express I Airlines) in 2010. At the time of the sale, Mesaba was operating 41 CRJ-900s, 19 CRJ-200s, and 32 Saabs. Displeased with the financial performance of the regional network flown by its turboprops – many in subsidized Essential Air Service routes – Delta announced that it would end Saab flying at the end of 2011. The last day for Delta Connection Saab flights was November 30, 2011. On January 4, 2012, all of Mesaba’s jet flying was transferred to the Pinnacle Airlines operating certificate. Shortly thereafter, Pinnacle filed for bankruptcy protection due to its deteriorating financial condition, partly due to the challenges of integrating Mesaba and its other subsidiary, Colgan Air. After announcing plans to wind down all turboprop flying, Pinnacle officially surrendered Mesaba’s operating certificate on July 31, 2012, marking the rather abrupt end of the once “mighty eagle”.
Route Maps
Timetables
Aircraft
Scheduled service in the 1970s used a Cessna 421 six-seat twin-turboprop, but its early flagship was the Beech C-99 Airliner. In the early 1980s the company upgraded to pressurized 19-seat Swearingen Metro III turboprops.
Traffic growth and expansion to the Detroit hub led the company to acquire Fokker F27s, which were later replaced by the DeHavilland Canada Dash-8. Later, the Saab 340 became Mesaba’s workhorse turboprop, which it would operate all the way to the end of its corporate life.
While initially interested in the Embraer 145 regional jet, the company ultimately acquired the Avro RJ85 quad jet. These were disposed of during Northwest’s bankruptcy in favor of the smaller Bombardier CRJ. However, growing volume and increasing stage lengths led to NWA assigning the stretched CRJ-900 to Mesaba in the years prior to the merger with Delta.
Financial / Annual Reports
Employee Newsletters
Marketing Materials
- Inflight Magazines – coming soon
- Ticket Jackets – seeking!
- Mesaba introductory brochure – likely 1982 (NWAHC collection)
Media
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