Mesaba Airlines
Mesaba Airlines is a regional airline based in Eagan, Minnesota, with office in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, which operates under the name Northwest Airlink. On behalf of Northwest, Mesaba Airlines flies short haul, commuter domestic routes on smaller jets and turbo-prop aircrafts. Mesaba has hubs in Minneapolis – St. Paul airport, Memphis airport, and Detroit Wayne County airport.

Mesaba Airlines History
Mesaba Airlines got its start in 1944 in Minnesota. With one plane, the airline specialized in ferrying employees of the Bladin Paper Company back and forth between Michigan and Minnesota. In the 1970s, Mesaba expanded their operations to include several routes servicing rural Minnesota communities and the major cities in the northern Midwestern corridor. In the early 1980s, Mesaba began code sharing flights with now defunct Republic Airlines. When Northwest Airlines absorbed the bankrupt Republic in the mid 1980s, Mesaba moved over to Northwest and began operating under the name Northwest Airlink. As Northwest Airlink, Mesaba Airlines began serving destinations nationwide.

Mesaba In The News
Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Mesaba Airlines has been in the news many times. In August, 2005, the company was AIG Award for Operational Excellence, rewarding the airline for being an industry leader in safety and loss prevention managements. The following month, however, Northwest Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which allowed them to withhold $25 million due to Mesaba. Subsequently, in October of 2005, Mesaba Airlines was forced to go to court and file Chapter 11 bankruptcy as well.

To offset their financial situation, Mesaba was forced to cut their fleet and cut their staff by 20%. Employees who kept their jobs were faced with the prospect of pay cuts. A Mesaba Airlines strike was narrowly avoided when an agreement was reached with each of the unions representing Mesaba employees in November, 2006. The strike threatening Mesaba Airline employees agreed to accept a pay cut to avoid a disruption in service, although the exact details of the agreements are unknown.

In early 2007, Mesaba was in the news again over rumors that Northwest was looking to purchase the airline as part of Northwest’s merger talks with Delta Airlines. As of January, 2007, talks have yet to begin with Mesaba about the purchase.