PHOENIX, -- America West (NYSE: AWA), the nation's second largest low-cost airline, announces that it will initiate new nonstop jet service between its Las Vegas hub and Oklahoma City as well as the California cities of Bakersfield and Long Beach. Service to Oklahoma City will begin on May 6, 2005; Bakersfield will begin on April 3, 2005; and service will begin to Long Beach on April 29, 2005. With this new service, America West offers customers 144 daily departures to 59 nonstop destinations from Las Vegas, more than any other carrier. America West Express, operated by Mesa Airlines, will provide the new service.

In addition to the new Las Vegas service, Oklahoma City will also benefit from two new roundtrip flights to America West's largest hub in Phoenix giving customers one-stop access to 46 nonstop destinations. All flights will be operated on the 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet 200 (CRJ200).

Customers in Bakersfield, who already enjoy nonstop service to America West's hub in Phoenix, now have one-stop access to 70 cities. Flights will be operated on the CRJ200.

Long Beach customers, who also have nonstop service to the Phoenix hub, will now have one-stop connections to 76 America West destinations. The service will be operated with the 86-seat Canadair Regional Jet 900 (CRJ900).

"With the addition of Long Beach, we now offer Las Vegas customers access to all the major airports in the Los Angles basin," said Dion Flannery, vice president, scheduling, route planning and Internet distribution. "Coupled with the new service to Bakersfield and Oklahoma City, the hometown airline offers our customers unparalleled travel options from Las Vegas."

The flight schedules are listed below.

Las Vegas to Oklahoma City Oklahoma City to Las Vegas Flight Departs Arrives Flight Departs Arrives 6717 10:47 p.m. 3:12 a.m. 6027 10:35 p.m. 11:15 p.m.

Las Vegas to Bakersfield, Calif. Bakersfield, Calif. to Las Vegas Flight Departs Arrives Flight Departs Arrives 6339 11:53 p.m. 1:08 a.m. 6717 9:10 p.m. 11:17 p.m.

Las Vegas to Long Beach, Calif. Long Beach, Calif. to Las Vegas Flight Departs Arrives Flight Departs Arrives 6700 11:35 a.m. 12:40 p.m. 6459 1:30 p.m. 2:30 p.m. 6702 8:15 p.m. 9:20 p.m. 6703 9:10 p.m. 10:10 p.m.

In addition to the new Bakersfield and Long Beach service, America West would also like to announce an additional roundtrip flight from Las Vegas to San Diego, Calif. and Tucson, Ariz. beginning on April 29, 2005. As previously announced, America West will begin service from Las Vegas to Boise, Idaho on March 1, 2005.

For more information or to book a ticket, customers may go to http://www.americawest.com/?c=12270816las. Customers may also purchase tickets by calling America West at 1-800-2-FLY-AWA (1-800-235-9292) or by contacting a travel agent. Travel agents are encouraged to use www.HPagentlink.com, which is an online booking tool that America West designed specifically for travel agents only. For corporate travelers, www.AWAcorpLink.com is an effective online resource that helps companies take control of their corporate-travel management needs without booking fees.

Mesa currently operates 183 aircraft with more than 1,100 daily system departures to 177 cities, 41 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. The Company, which was founded in New Mexico in 1982, has approximately 4,900 employees. Mesa is a member of the Regional Airline Association and Regional Aviation Partners.

America West Airlines is the nation's second largest low-cost airline and offers a range of services such as first class, assigned seating, airport clubs and an award winning frequent flyer program. America West's 13,000 employees serve 55,000 customers a day on more than 900 flights to 96 destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Costa Rica. This press release and additional information on America West can be accessed at www.americawest.com.

SOURCE America West Airlines Phil Gee of America West Airlines, Ph: +1-480-693-5729