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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, May 15, 2009

Judge rejects plan to rebrand go! under Aloha Airlines name


By Rick Daysog
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

September 19, 2007 file photo of Judge Lloyd King.

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A federal judge has again rejected a plan to rebrand go! airlines under the Aloha Airlines brand name.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King disqualified go!’s Phoenix-based parent Mesa Air Group as a co-bidder for the Aloha name due its role in Aloha’s demise.
“Mesa succeeded in inflicting great harm, not only upon Aloha corporate entities but also upon thousands of Aloha employees and families,” King wrote.
“It is difficult to imagine a court overlooking what Mesa has done and putting its stamp of approval on Mesa’s subsidiary, go!, becoming Aloha.”
Once the state's No. 2 carrier, Aloha shut down on March 31, 2008, due to soaring fuel prices and a costly fare war initiated by go!'s June 2006 start-up.
Aloha's former owner, Yucaipa Co. of California, is attempting to buy Aloha's trade name so that it can license the name to Mesa for a minimum of $6 million over 10 years. The licensing deal is part of a settlement of an antitrust lawsuit in which Aloha alleged that Mesa attempted to drive Aloha out of business.
King said he considered Mesa as a co-purchaser as a result of the settlement agreement, which allowed him to bring the issue of Mesa’s conduct into the case.
In March, King invalidated a similar sale of Aloha's intellectual properties to Yucaipa after attorneys for court-appointed trustee Dane Field barred an Advertiser reporter and a representative of the machinists union from attending a court-sanctioned auction.
Former Aloha Airlines employees, who blame Mesa for Aloha's demise, opposed the sale of the Aloha name to Mesa.