Pinnacle changing name to Endeavor

Pinnacle Airlines Inc. will change names to Endeavor Air as the formerly Memphis-based regional carrier seeks a clean break from its past.

The wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines considered nearly 50 names before settling on Endeavor, president and chief executive Ryan Gumm told employees in an e-mail. The change will take place in several weeks after a number of legal steps are completed.

Pinnacle emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April after downsizing fleet and workforce and reorganizing as an exclusive Delta Connection carrier. The company came to Memphis in 1997 as a Northwest Airlink carrier and christened itself Pinnacle after an initial public offering in 2003.

But the Pinnacle brand carried baggage: an April 1, 2012 bankruptcy that was blamed on high cost structure and changing dynamics of the regional airline industry; and the 50-fatality crash near Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 12, 2009, of a turboprop operated by Pinnacle subsidiary Colgan Air.

“Many of you have suggested that renaming our airline would provide momentum on our journey of becoming the best regional airline in the U.S.,” Gumm wrote. “We chose Endeavor Air because it evokes an image of innovation, excitement and the adventure of a journey.”

Gumm said the headquarters move to Minneapolis, which began in May, was near completion. The company once had nearly 2,000 in Memphis, but has dwindled to 190, in administration, flight operations and aircraft maintenance, as the Memphis office at One Commerce Square Downtown winds down.