EXHIBIT 99.1

                                  PRESS RELEASE
                          PINNACLE AIRLINES CFO DEPARTS

Pinnacle Airlines (NASDAQ: PNCL), Memphis, Tenn. August 13, 2004

Pinnacle Airlines has announced that Chief Financial Officer Curtis E. Sawyer
will be leaving the airline to accept the position of Chief Financial Officer
for Midwest Airlines, located in Milwaukee, WI.

Philip H. Trenary, Pinnacle's President & CEO said "Curt's leadership at
Pinnacle during the turnaround and record growth at Pinnacle during the past
seven years has been invaluable. We are grateful for his contributions and wish
him the best."

Pinnacle has retained an executive search firm to recruit his replacement as
expeditiously as possible.

Pinnacle Airlines, Inc., operates under the name Northwest Airlink and provides
service to destinations in the United States and Canada. Pinnacle operates an
all-jet fleet of Canadair 44 and 50-seat Regional Jets from Northwest hubs at
Detroit, Memphis and Minneapolis - St. Paul. Pinnacle Airlines maintains its
headquarters in Memphis, Tenn., and employs more than 2,500 People. For further
information, please contact Philip Reed, Vice-President, Marketing at
901-348-4257, or visit our web-site at www.nwairlink.com.

This press release contains various forward-looking statements that are based on
management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by and information currently
available to management. Although the Company believes that the expectations
reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable; it can give no
assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Such
statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions,
including those set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, which are available to investors at our web-site or on line from the
Commission. Should one of more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or
should underlying assumptions prove erroneous, actual results may vary
materially from results that were anticipated or projected. The Company does not
intend to update these forward-looking statements before its next required
filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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