Bankrupt Mesa Air Group Inc. wants to keep Jones Day as its outside lawyers, according to an application Mesa filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Jones Day, according to the filing, represents Mesa in a wide range of pre-petition litigation against Delta Air Lines and United Airlines Inc. In the past year, the firm has billed Mesa nearly $1.7 million for its services.

The filing lists the primary Jones Day lawyers expected to work on the litigation, along with their hourly rates. Among them are four Atlanta lawyers: partners G. Lee Garrett Jr. ($675) and David M. Monde ($625); and associates Robert A. Schmoll ($400) and Jason Burnette ($325).

According to the filing, Jones Day represents the beleaguered airline in four separate legal actions in three states.

Three of those suits were initiated in 2008 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. In one, Mesa and its subsidiary, Freedom Airlines, sued Delta seeking to enjoin Delta's termination of a jet operation agreement. The court issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Mesa, which was upheld by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The parties now are awaiting a trial date in the district court. In another suit, Mesa and Freedom allege that Delta wrongfully terminated another agreement and are seeking $40 million in damages. The third Georgia suit involves Delta's allegation that Mesa and Freedom breached a “most favored nation” contract provision. In that case, the file of which is sealed, the court has not ruled on Mesa's motion to dismiss.

Mesa also sued Delta in August in federal court in Arizona over the termination of an engine maintenance agreement and Delta's allegedly unauthorized retention of seven aircraft engines. Delta filed a mechanics' lien on the engines and a counterclaim seeking to foreclose on the liens, but the court found that Delta had forfeited its lien claims. Delta has filed a notice of appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals; Mesa has a pending motion for summary judgment.

And United, in October, sued Mesa over the parties' code-sharing agreement about the in-service dates for certain aircraft in federal court in Illinois. The suit is pending.

Mesa's bankruptcy court filing seeking to retain Jones Day in these and related actions notes that Mesa's success in restructuring turns on the outcome of these suits, because 96 percent of its passenger revenues for fiscal year 2009 were derived from code-share revenue guarantee agreements with Delta, United and US Airways. “Accordingly, preserving or defending these relationships, and related rights and claims, will be a critical component of the Debtors' overall restructuring in these cases,” the application notes.

Mesa and 10 subsidiaries petitioned for Chapter 11 reorganization on Jan. 5, citing assets of $975 million and liabilities of $869 million. The suit is In re: Mesa Air Group Inc., No. 10-10018.