Mesa Air Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:MESA) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

But there is definitely still a big log jam on the FOs that has been, again, another unforeseen consequence of this ill-conceived and ill-advised legislation.

Savi Syth: Makes sense. That’s helpful. Thank you.

Operator: Our next question comes from Helane Becker with Cowen. Go ahead please, your line is open.

Helane Becker: Thanks very operator and thanks for the time everybody this afternoon. So, just a couple of questions, and these are just kind of clarifying questions, Torque. On the investment loss in the quarter, can you just mention what that’s related to? I mean there was a big improvement from September to December. And I’m just wondering how I should think about that from December to March?

Jonathan Ornstein: Yes. So Helane, this is one that I have been involved in, so I can answer quickly. If you want to be able to judge whether we’re going to have investment gain or loss, you’re just going to look at the price of Archer because that’s really all it amounts to is just the price of Archer. We are currently long as part of our deal, about 2.2 million shares of Archer. We have more coming down the road. But that really — and Torque, correct me, but I think that really is the entire mark-to-market is on Archer’s stock.

Torque Zubeck: Yes. That is correct.

Helane Becker: Okay. And then my other question is just, again, a clarification question as I — and it’s kind of what Savi asked, I think, just differently. As we think about the wind down of American, how am I thinking about the block hour, the revenue components? Is the increase that we saw from $10 million to $18 million because that’s where the United reimbursements are showing up related to the pilots and the decrease from $137 million to $128 million is related to the block hour decline? I mean I know it means to be stupid, but obviously, I’m not getting it.

Jonathan Ornstein: So Helane, yeah, our block hours were down about 41% from the year-over-year piece. And so — but our revenue was roughly flat. That’s because we did get increase in — for pilot pay from United as well as we had the deferred revenue that we recognized in the quarter. Those are the two big pieces that made the overall revenue about flat with last year. Does that help? So moving forward, we’re obviously there’s not a lot of deferred revenue to recognize that there’ll be some that we’ll recognize in other quarters. But moving forward, it will be — we’ll have compensation for the new pilot rates. But in this next quarter, we also — we still have the American wind down that we aren’t getting fully compensated for pilots in that just so you’re aware.

Helane Becker: Okay. That’s very helpful. Thanks very much.

Jonathan Ornstein: You bet, Helane.

Operator: Our next question comes from Andrew Didora with Bank of America. Go ahead, please, your line is open.

Andrew Didora: Hey, everyone, good afternoon. Similar line of questioning to the revenues, but on the cost line, when we take a look at kind of cost per block hour in the quarter, it seems like kind of reset around $1,100 per block hour getting 20% step-up from where you were kind of trending in the back half of last year. Is this a good sort of run rate going forward, any one-timers in that number? I’m just trying to think of a baseline here given the new pilot pay and I know a lot more training costs?