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                                                                  EXHIBIT 31.1

                    CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
                         PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE
                           SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Philip H. Trenary, certify that:

     1.   I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
          ended March 31, 2006 of Pinnacle Airlines Corp.;

     2.   Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
          statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
          necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
          under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
          the period covered by this report;

     3.   Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
          information included in this report, fairly present in all material
          respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
          of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
          report;

     4.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible
          for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
          (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and
          internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act
          Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

             a)    Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
                   caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be
                   designed under our supervision, to ensure that material
                   information relating to the registrant, including its
                   consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
                   within those entities, particularly during the period in
                   which this report is being prepared;

             b)    Designed such internal control over financial reporting,
                   or caused such internal control over financial reporting to
                   be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable
                   assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
                   and the preparation of financial statements for external
                   purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
                   principles;

             c)    Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                   controls and procedures and presented in this report our
                   conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
                   controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered
                   by this report based on such evaluation; and

             d)    Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
                   internal control over financial reporting that occurred
                   during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter that has
                   materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
                   affect, the registrant's internal control over financial
                   reporting; and



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     5.   The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
          based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
          reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of
          registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
          functions):

             a)    All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
                   design or operation of internal control over financial
                   reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect
                   the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and
                   report financial information; and

             b)    Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
                   management or other employees who have a significant role in
                   the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.



Date:  April 27, 2006                   /s/ Philip H. Trenary
       ------------------               ----------------------------------------
                                        Philip H. Trenary
                                        President and Chief Executive Officer