MAX Mercury Air Grp.

Mercury Air Cargo Names Former UPS Executive As New Chief Operating Officer LOS ANGELES, Dec. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mercury Air Group President & CEO Joseph A. Czyzyk announced today that the Company has named Paul J. Martins, a former senior executive with United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), as Chief Operating Officer of its wholly owned subsidiary Mercury Air Cargo Inc. replacing Mark J. Coleman. Martins brings nearly 20 years of experience in the air freight industry to Mercury Air Cargo. After spending several years as General Manager for Buffalo Airways, Martins joined UPS in 1988. During his tenure at UPS, Martins served in a number of senior management positions within UPS' air cargo and charter operations -- making him uniquely qualified for his new role with Mercury Air Cargo. "Clearly, attracting someone of Paul's caliber sends a strong message that Mercury Air Cargo's best days are ahead. I have known Paul for the past 18 years and I am pleased to bring his passion, experience and expertise to the Mercury team," said Czyzyk. From 1993 to 1997 Martins served as International Sales and Marketing Manager for UPS Air Cargo Service and directed the Company's expansion of its service in Europe, Asia and The Americas. During this same period, he also managed the Company's worldwide Aircraft Charter Division. In 1997 Martins was named Director of UPS Air Charter Service, which included the UPS Passenger Airline that served 20 cities in North and Central America until August 2001. For the last three years Martins has served as Director of UPS Air Cargo, the Company's heavy freight division. "Mercury Air Cargo has a very strong reputation in marketing, sales and operational expertise for airlines and freight forwarders. I am very excited by this opportunity and I look forward to helping grow Mercury Air Cargo as we assist forwarders and airlines in meeting their air cargo needs worldwide," said Martins. With locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and many agents worldwide, Mercury Air Cargo is positioned to further its reach into the air cargo market. Add to this cargo handling capability at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Atlanta, Toronto and Montreal, Mercury is strategically situated to provide tactical cargo sales and logistics services to its customers worldwide. Martins is a graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston. He is the former Vice Chairman of Special Olympics in the State of Kentucky. Martins and his wife will be relocating to Los Angeles from Louisville, Kentucky later this month. About Mercury Air Group Los Angeles-based Mercury Air Group (AMEX:MAX)(PCX:MAX) provides aviation petroleum products, air cargo services and transportation, and support services for international and domestic commercial airlines, general and government aircraft and specialized contract services for the United States government. Mercury Air Group operates four business segments worldwide: Mercury Air Centers, Inc., MercFuel, Inc., Maytag Aircraft Corporation and Mercury Air Cargo, Inc. For more information, please visit http://www.mercuryairgroup.com/ . Certain statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts are forward looking statements as that item is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from estimated results. Such risks and uncertainties are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company intends these forward looking statements to speak only as of the time of the news release and does not undertake to update or revise them, as more information becomes available. For further information, please contact: Larry Barrios or David Herbst, +1-213-486-6560, both for Mercury Air Group. DATASOURCE: Mercury Air Group CONTACT: Larry Barrios or David Herbst, +1-213-486-6560, both for Mercury Air Group Web site: http://www.mercuryairgroup.com/

Copyright