Mesa Airlines the beginning

Mesa started flying a single-engine, six seat, Piper Saratoga between Farmington, NM and Albuquerque in October 1980. It is humorous that their first published flyer announced a one-way fare of $45 on the "747 of six place singles" (referring to the Saratoga). The company soon upgraded to a twin-engine Piper Seneca, and then a bigger Piper Navajo Chieftain. They also added Farmington to Denver as a market, putting them in competition with Frontier Airlines.