When Pinnacle Airlines Corp. purchased Mesaba Aviation Inc. for $62 million, it further tied its star to Delta Airlines Inc. while making itself one of the largest regional airline companies in the country.
Pinnacle , which is also the parent company of wholly owned subsidiaries Pinnacle Airlines Inc. and Colgan Air Inc., increased its total fleet from 202 aircraft to 297.
The Mesaba merger gives Pinnacle 34% of the Delta Connection business, second only to Utah-based Skywest Inc., which has 36%.
โThis really further strengthens our long-term relationship with Delta,โ says Pinnacle president and CEO Phil Trenary.