Mesaba Negotiations update:  October 15, 2006

AMFA Negotiations update:

Summary:
Your Bargaining Committee negotiated all day Saturday.
At 10:00 PM AMFA presented Mesaba a proposal that contained significant movement in multiple key areas.
At 1:00 AM Sunday, NMB Mediator Pat Sims declared the negotiations "adjourned" and dismissed the parties, after the Company refused to continue to bargain through
the night.

Details:

Saturday morning, the Company made a comprehensive written proposal that contained some positive moves.

Your committee then made a comprehensive written proposal based on a 4 year duration, which was the first time AMFA offered 4 years in writing, and a total of
15.8% savings, which translates to a 8.25% pay cut on DOS. It is worth noting that this AMFA proposal would ensure the company could operate at about 6% profit
margin, a margin that not only ensures the survival of the Company but would actually exceed by two or three times the margin the Company has earned since 2002!
Suffice it to say that AMFA made significant movement toward Mesaba in this proposal in multiple key areas.

Our last session began at 10:00 PM. This was at a hotel in which the Company had reserved a negotiating room for AMFA and several rooms for their people, apparently
in the anticipation of "going all night". Previously, the mediator had informed the Company she had to leave on Sunday and we had informed the Company that our
financial expert also had to leave late Sunday. Just prior to this session, your Committee privately conveyed to the mediator that we were prepared and expected to work
through the night. After presenting our proposal the Company asked for a 10 minute caucus and disappeared for an hour. The mediator eventually pursued them and it
became clear that the Company's position was that they were "too tired" to continue through the night and would not meet with us until 10:00 AM on Sunday morning.
About 11:30 PM, after this disappointing news, the mediator announced she was "adjourning" the session. Mediator Sims met again with the Company to discuss their
objections to the adjournment, but she held firm and dismissed us saying she would call later. We then caucused until 1:00 AM when the mediator called back to confirm
we were still "adjourned."

The Company's position concerning Mediator Sim's control and authority over our negotiations now places them in an interesting but unfortunate position with AMFA.
Remember, its the Company who unilaterally petitioned the National Mediation Board into our ongoing Section 1113 Bankruptcy negotiations back around the first of July,
2006. The Company may have to reconsider that position now as time is quickly running out. Regardless, if significant progress is made throughout the night with either
of the other unions and a consensual agreement appears imminent, we expect that the Company would contact us anyway to resume negotiations. But as of 11:00 PM
tonight, we know of no such development and have received no such phone calls or notices from the Company.

Thank you for your continued support,
Kevin Wildermuth
AMFA Negotiating Committee Chairman @ Mesaba