Exhibit 99.1

Pinnacle Airlines & PACE release Joint Statement

Memphis,  Tenn.  February  26, 2004 -- Pinnacle  Airlines,  Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary  of  Pinnacle  Airlines  Corp.  (NASDAQ:  PNCL),  and Paper,  Allied-
Industrial Chemical & Energy Workers International Union ("PACE") are pleased to
announce that they reached a tentative  agreement  today on an initial  contract
for Pinnacle's Fleet and Passenger Service  employees.  The agreement is subject
to ratification by the employees.

"We are very pleased to have  reached this  tentative  agreement  with PACE.  We
would like to thank the negotiating  committee which worked very hard to achieve
this result," said Phil Trenary, President and CEO of Pinnacle.

Lloyd  Walters,  International  Vice-President  of  PACE  and the  Union's  lead
negotiator  said,  "We  believe  the  tentative  agreement  is a win-win for the
Company  and the  Union.  We look  forward to  presenting  the  contract  to the
employees for their approval in the ratification process."

The parties expect the ratification vote to occur in March.

For further information, please contact Philip Reed, Vice-president of Marketing
at Pinnacle  Airlines at 901-348-4257 or via e-mail at  preed@nwairlink.com.  At
PACE, please contact Lloyd Walters at 615-585-0850.

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 2,400 People. For further
information, 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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