Freedom Airlines
Encyclopedia
Freedom Airlines, Inc. was an American
FAA Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number FDKA087K issued on April 1, 2002. The Nevada Corporation
is headquartered in Irving, Texas
and is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group
. It operated flights as Delta Connection
for Delta Air Lines
serving Delta's hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
in Hebron, KY, near Cincinnati, OH using EMB 145 aircraft. Freedom's base has been moved to Cincinnati from New York City in July 2009. Freedom previously operated the CRJ-900 aircraft as Delta Connection as well, however, this contract has been canceled and all aircraft and orders will be transferred to Eagan, MN-based Mesaba Airlines
and Atlanta, GA-based Atlantic Southeast Airlines
as well as Pinnacle Airlines
.
. The airline was started so that Mesa Air Group
could fulfill its contractual obligations to operate the CRJ-900 as America West Express
for America West Airlines
. Establishing Freedom was necessary as Mesa Airlines
was also operating as US Airways Express
under a code share agreement for US Airways
. US Airways' collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association prohibited contract carrier code share arrangements with regional jet carriers, if that carrier operated aircraft with more than 70 seats. Mesa Airlines, therefore, could not operate as US Airways Express and operate the CRJ-900.
Initially Freedom operated the Bombardier CRJ-700
and CRJ-900 on behalf of America West Airlines. Once US Airways' pilot scope limitation was relaxed, Mesa transferred the operation of all of Freedom's regional jet
s to Mesa Airlines. Once this transfer was complete Freedom placed 1 Beech 1900D
turboprop on its certificate in order to keep the certificate active. No scheduled flights occurred during this period with the Beech 1900, but it was used as a spare aircraft for Air Midwest aircraft flying out of Phoenix under an America West Express codeshare as well as a spare aircraft for Mesa Airlines' Dash-8-200 aircraft operating under a contract for America West. In October 2005, Freedom Airlines began operations as Delta Connection
.
from terminating Freedom's regional flying contract which, according to parent company Mesa Air Group
would have forced it to file for bankruptcy protection by July 20 and cut 700 jobs or 14 percent of its work force. Since then, the ERJ-145 fleet has been reduced to 22 operating aircraft along with 5 spares.
until they receive the last of their CRJ-900s orders. After that, 5 are operated by Mesaba Airlines
. The other 2 are operated by Atlanta based Atlantic Southeast Airlines
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
FAA Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number FDKA087K issued on April 1, 2002. The Nevada Corporation
Nevada Corporation
A Nevada corporation is a corporation incorporated under Chapter 78 of Nevada Revised Statutes of the U.S. state of Nevada.Nevada, like the state of Delaware , is well known as a corporate haven...
is headquartered in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
and is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 100 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines, and five supporting...
. It operated flights as Delta Connection
Delta Connection
Delta Connection is the name under which a number of individually owned regional airlines and one wholly owned regional carrier operate short and medium haul routes in association with Delta Air Lines Inc...
for Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
serving Delta's hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport , sometimes called the Greater Cincinnati Airport is located in Hebron, unincorporated Boone County, Kentucky, United States and serves the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. Despite being located in Boone County, the airport operations are...
in Hebron, KY, near Cincinnati, OH using EMB 145 aircraft. Freedom's base has been moved to Cincinnati from New York City in July 2009. Freedom previously operated the CRJ-900 aircraft as Delta Connection as well, however, this contract has been canceled and all aircraft and orders will be transferred to Eagan, MN-based Mesaba Airlines
Mesaba Airlines
Mesaba Airlines is an American regional airline based in Eagan, Minnesota. The airline operates under Mesaba Aviation, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corporation...
and Atlanta, GA-based Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines is an American airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operates...
as well as Pinnacle Airlines
Pinnacle Airlines
Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline, which is a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp., and operates as Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines...
.
History
The airline was established in March 2002 and started operations in October 2002. It was the launch customer for the Bombardier CRJ-900Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet
The Bombardier CRJ is a family of regional airliners manufactured by Bombardier:* CRJ100 - 50 seats* CRJ200 - 50 seats* CRJ700 - 70 seats* CRJ705 - 75 seats* CRJ900 - 90 seats* CRJ1000 - 100 seats...
. The airline was started so that Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 100 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines, and five supporting...
could fulfill its contractual obligations to operate the CRJ-900 as America West Express
America West Express
America West Express was the name for America West Airlines commuter and regional flights operated by Mesa Air Group's Mesa Airlines under a code share agreement...
for America West Airlines
America West Airlines
America West Airlines corporate offices were in Tempe, Arizona and the main hub was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The airline became part of the US Airways Group after a merger in 2005....
. Establishing Freedom was necessary as Mesa Airlines
Mesa Airlines
Mesa Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is a FAA Part 121 certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group. It was known briefly as Mountain West Airlines from...
was also operating as US Airways Express
US Airways Express
US Airways Express is an airline brand name, rather than a fully certified airline, and as such, the US Airways Express name is used by several individually owned airlines or airline holding companies which provide regional airline and commuter service for US Airways.Operations are conducted from...
under a code share agreement for US Airways
US Airways
US Airways, Inc. is a major airline based in the U.S. city of Tempe, Arizona. The airline is an operating unit of US Airways Group and is the sixth largest airline by traffic and eighth largest by market value in the country....
. US Airways' collective bargaining agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association prohibited contract carrier code share arrangements with regional jet carriers, if that carrier operated aircraft with more than 70 seats. Mesa Airlines, therefore, could not operate as US Airways Express and operate the CRJ-900.
Initially Freedom operated the Bombardier CRJ-700
Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet
The Bombardier CRJ is a family of regional airliners manufactured by Bombardier:* CRJ100 - 50 seats* CRJ200 - 50 seats* CRJ700 - 70 seats* CRJ705 - 75 seats* CRJ900 - 90 seats* CRJ1000 - 100 seats...
and CRJ-900 on behalf of America West Airlines. Once US Airways' pilot scope limitation was relaxed, Mesa transferred the operation of all of Freedom's regional jet
Regional jet
A Regional jet , is a class of short to medium-range turbofan powered airliners.-History:The term "Regional jet" describes a range of short to medium-haul turbofan powered aircraft, whose use throughout the world expanded after the advent of Airline Deregulation in the United States in...
s to Mesa Airlines. Once this transfer was complete Freedom placed 1 Beech 1900D
Beechcraft 1900
The Beechcraft 1900 is a 19-passenger, pressurized twin-engine turboprop airplane manufactured by the Beechcraft Division of the Raytheon Company . It was designed, and is primarily used, as a regional airliner...
turboprop on its certificate in order to keep the certificate active. No scheduled flights occurred during this period with the Beech 1900, but it was used as a spare aircraft for Air Midwest aircraft flying out of Phoenix under an America West Express codeshare as well as a spare aircraft for Mesa Airlines' Dash-8-200 aircraft operating under a contract for America West. In October 2005, Freedom Airlines began operations as Delta Connection
Delta Connection
Delta Connection is the name under which a number of individually owned regional airlines and one wholly owned regional carrier operate short and medium haul routes in association with Delta Air Lines Inc...
.
ERJ-145 Contract
On April 7, 2008, Mesa Air Group, the parent company of Freedom Airlines, entered litigation about contractual obligations with Delta Air Lines. Delta attempted to terminate the ERJ-145 contract due to supposed failures to meet completion in 3 of the last 6 months. On May 29, 2008, a federal judge blocked DeltaDelta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
from terminating Freedom's regional flying contract which, according to parent company Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group
Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 100 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines, and five supporting...
would have forced it to file for bankruptcy protection by July 20 and cut 700 jobs or 14 percent of its work force. Since then, the ERJ-145 fleet has been reduced to 22 operating aircraft along with 5 spares.
CRJ-900 Contract
In August 2008, Mesa announced that Delta was terminating Freedom's contract to operate CRJ-900 aircraft. As with the ERJ-145 contract, Mesa alleged that the cancellation was driven by Delta's intention to cut capacity rather than Freedom's failure to meet operational performance standards, as Delta claims. However, unlike the ERJ-145 contract, Delta's attempt to cancel the contract was successful. The seven CRJ-900s were returned to Delta with no further financial obligation to Mesa. They were being operated by Pinnacle AirlinesPinnacle Airlines
Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. is an American regional airline, which is a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp., and operates as Delta Connection for Delta Air Lines...
until they receive the last of their CRJ-900s orders. After that, 5 are operated by Mesaba Airlines
Mesaba Airlines
Mesaba Airlines is an American regional airline based in Eagan, Minnesota. The airline operates under Mesaba Aviation, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corporation...
. The other 2 are operated by Atlanta based Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines
Atlantic Southeast Airlines is an American airline based in the A-Tech Center in College Park, Georgia, flying to 144 destinations as a Delta Connection carrier and, as of February 2010, commenced service as a United Express carrier. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc. ASA operates...
.
Shutdown
In May 2010, a federal judge ruled against regional carrier Mesa Air Group in the long-running dispute with Delta Air Lines over the larger carrier's right to cancel a regional jet service contract. Mesa said in a statement that it may now have to lay off 500 workers at its Freedom Airline subsidiary because 22 of its regional jets will be without work. On August 31, 2010, the last flight for Freedom Airlines operated.Previous fleet
The Freedom Airlines fleet at the time of shutdown consisted of the following aircraft:| Aircraft | Number | Orders/Options | Passengers | Notes |
| Embraer ERJ-145 | 34 | 0/64 | 50 | 31 operated as Delta Connection Delta Connection Delta Connection is the name under which a number of individually owned regional airlines and one wholly owned regional carrier operate short and medium haul routes in association with Delta Air Lines Inc... 3 used for dedicated services |
Retired fleet
| Aircraft | Year Retired | Replacement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dash 8-100 | 2007 | Embraer ERJ-145 | Acquired in 2006 for Delta Connection flights at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport |
| Bombardier CRJ900 | 2008 | n/a | Leased from Delta for $1/month each |