Mesa Air Group, Inc. announced today it received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to add the Embraer E175 to its operating certificate, a critical accomplishment in its goal of having the aircraft “on line on time.” Mesa will begin its E-Jet operations this summer with the first of 30 aircraft scheduled for delivery as part of its United Express operation.

“We are pleased to add this new generation aircraft to our fleet,” said Mesa Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein. “I would like to thank all our people involved with the E-Jet program, especially project leader Mike Ferverda. Many thanks to our friends at United Airlines, who were incredibly supportive of this project, as well as the folks at the FAA for their assistance throughout the process. We look forward to seeing the aircraft on line and creating new opportunities to expand our E175 fleet.”

“Our E175 certification program started more than 10 months ago and took team work, attention to detail and professionalism,” said Mike Ferverda, Senior Vice President of Aircraft Programs. “In particular, I would like to recognize our E-Jet operational group leaders, Artemis Bayandor, Timothy Boldt, Jeffrey Domrese, Tara Holland, Bryan Johnson and Craig McDannell for their outstanding efforts.