Mesa Air will seek to dispose of 77 excess aircraft from its current fleet of 178 airframes under the Chapter 11 reorganization filed yesterday.

The company, which operates regional aircraft for Delta, United and US Airways, in a court filing explained that the loss of key contracts with these carriers has burdened it with aircraft leases – and associated costs – that are unsustainable.

“As currently configured, the fleet is too large for the debtors’ [Mesa Air’s] operations,” said Mesa Air President and CFO Michael Lotz in a filing with the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

“The debtors need to reduce and rationalize the fleet to eliminate the significant costs associated with retaining, maintaining and storing the aircraft that is not in use,” he added.

Lotz also noted that prior to the bankruptcy filing Mesa Air entered talks with creditors to reject aircraft and equipment contracts, but was unable to reach acceptable terms. The regional operator then decided it was necessary to use the U.S. bankruptcy courts to dismiss this debt.