Skift Take
U.S. regional airline Mesa Air Group has a relentless focus on costs. But with major carriers trying to increase their customer satisfaction scores, Mesa will need to raise its reliability to win and retain business.
American Airlines wants Mesa Airlines, one of seven regional carriers operating as American Eagle, to improve its reliability, or American could take some of its business elsewhere.
"American made clear they didn't, quite frankly, want our money," Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein said Tuesday on a conference call with investment analysts. "They wanted the performance."
American has struggled with its own on-time reliability since merging with US Airways, and recently has placed an emphasis on it, believing it drives customer satisfaction. It is also pushing its contractors to improve, and it sought new contract terms recently with Mesa, which operates more than 60 Bombardier CRJ900s on regional routes, mainly from American's Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth hubs.
Under the new terms, Mesa could win higher incentive payments for reaching operational milestones. But it could also be punished if it does not meet America
