As far as Indy Air goes, the recent injunction preventing Mesa from replacing our board of directors paves the way for the low-fare carrier. Even though the injunction isn't permanent, the investigation and final ruling could be a long time away and Independence Air is proceeding in the meantime.
The next big hurdle is to get released from our current UAL contract. We havn't been awarded a new contract under the bankruptcy court, but we still have obligations under the old one. UAL can't leave bankruptcy protection until the IAD UEX flying is taken care of and they can't send in Mesa because Mesa doesn't have the airplanes or the gates. It's a catch-22.
I see a slim possibility that we will get an interim contract to cover UEX flying until Mesa can get up to speed while we still proceed with IA. We'll just have to see what happens.
As far as stockholders are concerned, I think that some do agree with Doug about the risk of the new venture. The market hates uncertainty and Mesa's offering represents a certainty, even if unpleasant.
On the other hand, Mesa's fortunes are largely tied to two companies who were recently/currently bankrupt and who stand a good chance of re-entering bankruptcy in the near future. If that happens, what will happen to Mesa's already razor thin profit margins? If they liquidate, how will Mesa pay for all those jets?
Indy Air is starting with an existing fleet and infrastructure of respectable size and lot of money in the bank. Additionally, a USA Today article on 12-18 indicated that we expect to retain the DAL flying.
Tie that together with the fact that JetBlue, ATA, AirTran and Southwest are either operating, planning or looking at using RJs and you can take a lot of anxiety out of ACA's plans.