Jonathan Ornstein has learned something over the years about mending fences–and breaking down barriers. Although the outspoken and sometimes brash chairman and CEO of Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group has fought his share of battles during his 13 years in the airline business, Ornstein has found ways to overcome conflicts with those he needs to survive and prosper.
Now in his fourth year at the helm of the country’s third-largest independently owned regional airline group, Ornstein’s decision to make Mesa the launch customer for the new CRJ-900 regional jet marked a return to at least outwardly cordial terms with Canada’s Bombardier. Meanwhile, the company’s long legal battle with United Airlines came to an unceremonious end after Mesa’s board decided to settle its lawsuit against the world’s largest airline, a decision admittedly borne out of pragmatism if not a recognition of the suit’s futility.
