Mesaba Aviation and Pilots Sign New Contract.

Business Editors

MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2004

Mesaba Aviation, a subsidiary company of MAIR Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:MAIR), signed a new five-year contract today with the Air Line Pilots Association, covering the airline's 844 pilots.

The agreement, which was reached after more than 30 months of negotiations, was ratified by Mesaba's pilots in results announced today by ALPA.

"I appreciate the patience of our pilots and the rest of our employees during the negotiation process," said John Spanjers, president and chief operating officer of Mesaba Aviation. "This contract should position us well to compete for growth with our partner Northwest Airlines, and it will also allow us to manage our costs through the continuing uncertainties in the airline industry."

Negotiations on the contract began in June 2001 and entered mediation in August 2002. The two parties reached a tentative agreement on Jan. 11, 2004.

Mesaba Aviation, Inc., d/b/a Mesaba Airlines, operates as a Northwest Jet Airlink and Northwest Airlink partner under service agreements with Northwest Airlines. Currently, Mesaba Aviation serves 111 cities in 28 states and Canada from Northwest's and Mesaba Aviation's three major hubs: Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Memphis. Mesaba Aviation operates an advanced fleet of 99 regional jet and jet-prop aircraft, consisting of the 69 passenger Avro RJ85 and the 30-34 passenger Saab SF340.

MAIR Holdings, Inc. is traded under the symbol MAIR on the NASDAQ National Market.

More information about Mesaba Airlines is available on the Internet at: http://www.mesaba.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the best information currently available to management. These forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. There can be no assurance that actual developments will be those anticipated by MAIR Holdings, Inc. Actual results could differ materially from those projected as a result of a number of factors, some of which MAIR Holdings, Inc., cannot predict or control. For a discussion of some of these factors, please see the Cautionary Statements in MAIR Holdings' Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2003 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003.