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DHL Express ends capacity agreement with Mesa Airlines

Regional carrier operated three Boeing 737-400s for parcel giant

Eric Kulisch
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Mesa Airlines operated three Boeing 737-400 cargo jets, similar to this one pictured at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, for DHL Express. (Photo: Shutterstock/lorenzatx)

DHL Express has terminated its flying-services agreement with Mesa Airlines one year before the end of its term because of reduced cargo demand, the Phoenix-based regional carrier disclosed in its quarterly earnings report on Monday.

Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ: MESA) said that the partners “mutually agreed to wind down cargo operation as of February” and that pilots from its cargo business are retraining to operate Mesa’s Embraer E-175 passenger jets. DHL will reimburse Mesa for costs associated with the operation’s dissolution. 

Mesa’s last flight for DHL was on March 11, according to Flightradar24. Cargo Facts reported in March that Mesa had stopped flight operations for DHL.

It is the third carrier this year that has ceased operating dedicated aircraft in the DHL Express U.S. package network. iAero Airways, which operated dozens of flights per week for DHL with Boeing 737 freighters, went out of business in April. DHL also canceled its contract with Amerijet to fly scheduled service in its package-delivery network and took back the Boeing 767 aircraft it owned.


Mesa Airlines operated three Boeing 737-400 converted freighters for DHL, moving packages from various cities to the national hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and other hubs. It began flying for DHL in fall 2020 under a five-year contract. DHL subleased the aircraft to Mesa, which was responsible for the crews, maintenance and insurance. 

Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein said in December 2021 that the company wanted to eventually operate a cargo fleet of eight to 10 freighters for DHL.

The regional carrier’s fortunes were upset by the COVID crisis, as well as the loss of business as a feeder operation for American Airlines in April 2023. It lost $302 million in the past two years and reported a $57.9 million loss for the first quarter versus a net loss of $9.1 million in the same 2023 period. The company has been selling off spare CRJ-900 aircraft and engines and has reworked its flight agreement with partner United Airlines to reduce debt and improve profitability. 

Mesa’s fleet consists of 54 E-175s and 26 CRJ-900s. 


Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

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Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, Eric was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. He has appeared on Marketplace, ABC News and National Public Radio to talk about logistics issues in the news. Eric is based in Vancouver, Washington. He can be reached for comments and tips at ekulisch@freightwaves.com