The effervescent Ornstein, now 42, is chief executive of Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group.

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Mesa Air Group Inc. said it would begin training its pilots to carry and use non-lethal stun guns in the cockpit in coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration.

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And he notes that Mesa Air Group, which operates primarily as a contract carrier throughout the U.S., recently signed a joint venture agreement with Shenzhen Airlines to create a Chinese regional airline.

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The study involved 5, 362 people between the ages of 45 and 84 living in six different cities that are part of the MESA AIR (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis and Air Pollution) research project, led by Joel Kaufman.

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The smaller carriers that do have a significant percentage of hub-and-spoke routes, such as Mesa Air Group and SkyWest, do so as contract carriers for the Big Six: AMR, Delta Air Lines , UAL, Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines and U.S. Airways.

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Obama also discussed the "life in the bubble, " musing over how Secret Service agents would not let him walk 750 yards from Air Force One to the Costa Mesa fairgrounds, where some of the day's activities were to take place.

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Next to join the hit parade could be Mesa Airlines, which says it will file bankruptcy soon if Delta Air Lines terminates a contract that feeds it passengers.

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