United Airlines has reached an agreement with regional carrier Mesa Airlines over the acquisition of 18 Bombardier CRJ-700s. We take a closer look at this $50 million deal below.

United to buy 18 CRJ-700s from Mesa

United Airlines will bolster its regional fleet with the addition of 18 Bombardier CRJ-700s from Mesa Airlines. The 18 regional jets, which are in service under the United Express brand, will officially transfer to United Airlines in an agreement worth around $50 million.

According to the purchase agreement, each aircraft will be delivered "as is, where is", while United has "agreed to deposit a specified sum per aircraft with FAA counsel, to be applied toward the purchase of each aircraft."

Mesa's CRJ-700s are set up with a two-class configuration, offering six business and 64 economy seats, and have an average age of around 18 years. The majority of the aircraft arrived at Mesa in the early-to-mid 2000s and were put into service with United Express.

However, in early 2021, Mesa Airlines announced it would end all CRJ-700 operations on behalf of United Express and lease the aircraft to GoJet Airlines, which now operates the jets under United Express. Even before the pandemic hit, Mesa had plans to phase out its CRJ-700s with the ERJ-175 before accelerating the process in the past couple of years.

Close ties with United

Mesa first partnered up with United in the early 1990s following a codeshare agreement at Mesa's old Denver Stapleton Airport base. The cooperation was expanded in 2003 after Mesa signed on to operate a wider scope of flights under the United Express brand.

The two have cooperated on several ventures since then, including the acquisition of 200 electric aircraft from Heart Aerospace, a Swedish startup. Mesa will now operate up to 80 ERJ-175 jets on behalf of United Express as the partnership remains strong.

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About Mesa Airlines

Mesa Airlines was established in 1980 as Mesa Air Shuttle and soon grew into a significant regional operator, working with America West Airlines and US Airways. The airline currently operates flights under the banner of United Express and American Eagle, the regional branches of United Airlines and American Airlines.

As Simple Flying reported last month, Mesa unveiled its Mesa Pilot Development Program (MPD) to address the pilot shortage problem. This program will be capable of training upwards of 1,000 pilots a year with a fleet of over 100 Pipistrel Alpha Trainer aircraft.

The regional carrier now flies to over 110 cities and 40 states with a fleet of almost 150 aircraft. Along with its passenger operations for United and American, Mesa also has a cargo partnership with DHL Express served by a fleet of three Boeing 737-400s.

Do you think this is a smart move by United Airlines? Have you ever traveled on a flight operated by Mesa Airlines? Let us know in the comments.