Jonathan Ornstein is not afraid to experiment. The outspoken chief executive of Mesa Air Group has been doing bold things since he rejoined the Arizona-based regional carrier in 1998 after a stint in Belgium, where he was chief executive of Virgin Express. Last year Mesa launched an independent operation in Hawaii, go!, and last month it launched a joint venture carrier in China, Kunpeng Airlines. While European carriers have not been afraid to experiment with joint ventures in Asia, including by establishing joint venture cargo airlines in China, it is unheard for a US carrier to invest overseas. But Ornstein is not your normal US executive.

“We’ve been looking at other opportunities,” says Orntein, adding Mesa’s next daring venture could be in Central America or the Middle East.

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