Mesa Air could be a public company again

Mesa Air Group is seeking to become a publicly owned company again, eight years after the regional carrier filed for bankruptcy protection in the aftermath of the last recession.

The Phoenix-based regional airline in recent weeks has registered to sell roughly 10.7 million shares to the public at a price around $14 to $16 a share. Mesa had been a public company prior to a bankruptcy filing in early 2010, when it trimmed its fleet to reduce debts and end costly leases on idle planes.

Mesa has contracts with American Airlines and United Airlines and operates as American Eagle and United Express. It flies to 110 cities in 38 states as well as Canada, Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas.

Its main operations are at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix and in Dallas, Houston and at Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C., area.

Passengers aren’t likely to notice any significant immediate changes to service if the share offering goes through.

Mesa claims to be the nation’s fifthlargest regional airline. It listed 3,229 employees, including 1,317 pilots/pilot recruits and 1,159 flight attendants. The company averages 610 daily departures with its fleet of 145 aircraft.

“We believe that our cost discipline, strong operational performance and financial resources will provide additional opportunities to expand our operations,” the company said in its filing paperwork.

Potential risks cited by management include rising labor costs, debt-servicing expenses, dependence on its two big airline partners and attracting/retaining a sufficient number of pilots.

If Mesa’s Initial Public Offering of shares goes though, the company said it intends to use the proceeds to repay or refinance debt.

Mesa shares would trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “MESA.”

Mesa earned a profit of $25 million on $332 million in revenue over the six months ending March 31, up from net income of $11.9 million on revenue of $319 million in the prior-year period. The company hasn’t reported financial results for the quarter ending June 30.

Mesa also reported $873 million in long-term debt as of March 31, with $1.34 billion in assets, including $143 million in cash and cash equivalents.