<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.1
<SEQUENCE>3
<FILENAME>me680271-ex99_1.txt
<DESCRIPTION>PRESS RELEASE
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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1


Press Release

Mesa Air Group Proposes Atlantic Coast Board Slate Committed to Act in
Shareholders' Interests; Intends to Commence Exchange Offer for ACA Shares

PHOENIX, Oct 14, 2003 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mesa Air Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: MESA)
today announced that it is filing a preliminary consent statement with the
Securities and Exchange Commission to nominate a slate of directors to replace
current board members of Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACAI).
The filing will enable Mesa to solicit written consents from ACA shareholders to
vote for seven highly qualified director nominees who, if elected, are committed
to acting in the best interests of all ACA shareholders.

Mesa also intends to commence an exchange offer for all outstanding shares of
ACA, and/or deliver a draft merger agreement to the board of ACA, that each
provide for the exchange of shares at a ratio of 0.9 of a Mesa share for each
outstanding share of ACA common stock.

Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mesa Air Group, said,
"We are disappointed that we have not received a response from ACA management or
its board of directors to our October 6 letter outlining an acquisition proposal
for ACA. We have made a full and fair proposal to merge with ACA based on a
proven strategy that we believe will result in long-term profitability. Our
focused business model, based on revenue guarantee code share relationships with
major airlines serving hub networks, applied to an enlarged asset base and a
broader portfolio of client partnerships, will offer more balanced revenue
distribution and strong synergies. As the leading operator in the regional
aviation sector, we would have a stronger balance sheet and greater access to
capital to fund our combined growth. Employees of both companies would have a
stronger, more secure employer and greater advancement opportunities; our major
airline customers would benefit from our ability to provide lower cost services;
our shareholders an enhanced capital structure. Consequently, we believe that
both Mesa and ACA shareholders, who would receive shares of Mesa common stock in
the transaction, will benefit from our successful execution of this merger.

"Accordingly, we are taking steps to give ACA shareholders the opportunity to
replace existing directors with those who are committed to fairly considering
our offer or a similarly attractive alternative."

Based on the closing prices of Mesa and ACA common stock on Friday, October 3,
2003, the last trading day before announcement of the Mesa proposal, the offer
represented a 25% premium over the price of shares of ACA common stock on
October 3, and a 35% premium to ACA's average trading price since July 28, 2003
the day ACA announced its change in strategy.

In addition to replacing directors, Mesa will also seek written consent from ACA
stockholders to approve a resolution to repeal any by-laws or amendments that
have been adopted since the last date ACA's by-laws were filed with the SEC
(August 14, 1998).


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Mesa intends to nominate the following seven independent individuals for
election as ACA directors:

      o     Nathaniel A. Davis, Previous President and Chief Operating Officer,
            XO Communications; Director of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc.;

      o     Andre V. Duggin, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief
            Executive Officer of A.V. Consultants, Inc., an insurance and risk
            management company;

      o     Theodore F. Kahan, Senior Managing Director, El Camino Capital
            Group, a real estate investment company; former Executive Vice
            President of The Davis Companies;

      o     James R. Link, Consultant, JLink Associates, a financial/marketing
            consulting firm; Chief Executive Officer of PAC/AV; and Chief
            Executive Officer of TRW Investments, a venture capital firm; former
            Vice President of Worldwide sales, Raytheon Aircraft Company;

      o     David T. McLaughlin, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Orion
            Safety Products; Chairman of the American Red Cross; previous
            President of Dartmouth College; Director of Viacom, Inc., Orion
            Safety Products and Infinity Broadcasting;

      o     Peter F. Nostrand, Chairman of the Board of Directors, President and
            Chief Executive Officer, SunTrust Banks, Inc., Greater Washington;
            Former President of Crestar Bank Washington, DC and Crestar Bank MD;
            and

      o     Archille R. Paquette, Retired President, Chief Operating Officer,
            Air Midwest, Inc.

About Mesa Air Group

Mesa currently operates 150 aircraft with 938 daily system departures to 163
cities, 40 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. It
operates in the West and Midwest as America West Express; the Midwest and East
as US Airways Express; in Denver and the West as United Express; in Denver as
Frontier JetExpress until December 31, 2003; in Kansas City with Midwest Express
and in New Mexico and Texas as Mesa Airlines. The Company, which was founded in
New Mexico in 1982, has approximately 4,000 employees. Mesa is a member of the
Regional Airline Association and Regional Aviation Partners.

Certain Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains various forward-looking statements that are 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. Should
one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those
anticipated, estimated, projected or


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expected. The company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements
prior to its next required filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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