SOURCE: Pinnacle Airlines

 

MEMPHIS, TN--(Marketwire - November 6, 2009) - Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL) today released capacity and operational results for its Colgan Air, Inc. subsidiary for October 2009.

                                            October 2009 Performance
                                        -------------------------------
                                          2009       2008      Change
                                        ---------  ---------  --------
Passengers                                233,783    255,104      (8.4)%
Available Seat Miles (000)                 92,920    103,930     (10.6)%
Revenue Passenger Miles (000)              57,679     60,085      (4.0)%
Load Factor                                  62.1%      57.8%      4.3 pts.
Block Hours                                11,524     13,001     (11.4)%
Departures                                  9,038     10,500     (13.9)%

Fleet
   SAAB 340                                    34         38     (10.5)%
   Beech 1900                                   -          2    (100.0)%
   Q400                                        14         15      (6.7)%


                                            Year-To-Date Performance
                                        -------------------------------
                                          2009       2008      Change
                                        ---------  ---------  --------
Passengers                              2,279,499  2,107,445       8.2%
Available Seat Miles (000)                917,488    875,938       4.7%
Revenue Passenger Miles (000)             536,892    472,644      13.6%
Load Factor                                  58.5%      54.0%      4.5 pts.
Block Hours                               115,923    129,630     (10.6)%
Departures                                 93,142    103,574     (10.1)%

The average length of a Colgan flight was 230 statute miles compared to 224 statute miles in October 2008.

About Pinnacle Airlines Corp.

Pinnacle Airlines Corp. (NASDAQ: PNCL), an airline holding company, is the parent company of Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and Colgan Air, Inc. Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. operates a fleet of 142 regional jets under Delta brands in the United States, Canada, the Bahamas, Mexico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Turks and Caicos Islands. Colgan Air, Inc. operates a fleet of 48 regional turboprops as Continental Connection, United Express and US Airways Express. Pinnacle Airlines Corp. operating units fly more than 1,280 daily flights and transport 13 million passengers a year to 152 cities and towns in North America. The corporate headquarters is located in Memphis, Tenn. Airport hub operations are located in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Newark, Washington Dulles, Houston, LaGuardia, Memphis and Minneapolis. Visit www.pncl.com for more information.

This press release contains various forward-looking statements based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to management. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable; it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Such statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available to investors at our web site or online from the Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove erroneous, actual results September vary materially from results that were anticipated or projected. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements before its next required filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.