Posted on: Wednesday, October 20, 2004

State to pursue penalties in airline fare scheme

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

The teenage CEO of a nonexistent airline that advertised $89 flights to Honolulu has filed for federal bankruptcy protection, but Hawai'i officials still plan to pursue $25,000 worth of penalties against him.

Luke R. Thompson, who was an 18-year-old Massachusetts college student when he promoted Mainline Airways LLC last year, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection last month in federal court in Massachusetts.

"But that doesn't affect the ability of the state to collect a judgment on fines or penalties," said Steve Levins, executive director of the Hawai'i Office of Consumer Protection. "Even though he ultimately got his debts discharged, the (bankruptcy) court said we have the right to go after his assets and try to collect on the penalty."

Levins' office earlier won a Circuit Court judgment against Thompson, who was ordered to pay the penalties and restitution to approximately 100 customers. Thompson also was ordered not to attempt similar schemes. Thompson has since repaid all of the customers, Levins said.

State and federal officials from Honolulu to Los Angeles to Massachusetts last year said that Mainline Airways was nothing more than a Web site that promised one-way, $89 flights from Los Angeles to Honolulu aboard a "fleet" of Boeing jets outfitted with leather chairs and personal televisions for every seat.

During his freshman year at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., according to the Massachusetts attorney general, Thompson incorporated Mainline Airways in his home state of Pennsylvania and established a Web site that featured Hawaiian music and images.

The company address was Thompson's Babson College post office box. Babson College calls itself a top school for budding entrepreneurs.

Reach Dan Nakaso at 525-8085 or dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.