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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 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)) 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)       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

                  c)       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

       5.     The registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed,
              based on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors
              and the audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or
              persons performing the equivalent function):
                  a)       All significant deficiencies in the design or
                           operation of internal controls which could adversely
                           affect the registrant's ability to record, process,
                           summarize and report financial data and have
                           identified for the registrant's auditors any material
                           weaknesses in internal controls; 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:  October 28, 2004                   /s/  Philip H. Trenary
       ----------------                   --------------------------------------
                                          Philip H. Trenary
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer