Hawaiian Airlines yesterday said go! airline documents show the startup carrier intended to drive Aloha Airlines out of business within two years, then raise ticket prices above pre-fare war levels.

Once Aloha was out of the market, go! planned to raise fares 5 percent above the $79 to $89 range where they stood before 2006, said Samuel Engel, an airline industry expert hired by Hawaiian.

In testimony for Hawaiian's lawsuit against go!'s Phoenix-based parent Mesa Air Group, Engel said go!'s business plan shows that the startup carrier "hoped to knock out Aloha" within two years.

"Mesa's true colors showed through today. ... The notion that they are here to bring cheap interisland travel is untrue," Hawaiian Chief Executive Officer Mark Dunkerley said after yesterday's court hearing.

"We heard testimony that they would push Aloha out of business in 24 months and that it was their plan, and their expectation, and their objective to raise interisland fares not from where they are today but from where they were."

Hawaiian is suing Phoenix-based Mesa for $173 million in damages, alleging that Mesa used confidential financial data from Hawaiian to set up go! airline.

If Hawaiian wins its case, Mesa may be forced to shut down go!, according to airline analysts.

Mesa Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ornstein said the scenario presented by Engel was just one of many hypothetical scenarios that was included in a 1,000-page study of the interisland market.

He said the business plan he submitted to Mesa's board forecasted fares ranging between $54 and $57 during go!'s first five years.

"I believe our highest fare is still lower than their lowest fare," Ornstein said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Ornstein also denied that Mesa attempted to drive Aloha out of business. Ornstein previously testified that his company attempted to invest $20 million in Aloha to bring the state's No. 2 airline out of bankruptcy.

But the plan was rejected when Aloha was acquired in February 2006 by a group headed by California billionaire Ron Burkle.

Mesa launched go! in June 2006 with one-way fares of $39 and has since temporarily lowered its fares to $29, $19, $9 and $1.

Dunkerley also confirmed that Hawaiian expressed an interest in acquiring Aloha during its bankruptcy but he said that both sides determined early on "that it wasn't in either parties' interests" to do so.

An Aloha spokesman declined comment.

Engel's testimony was one of the most anticipated in the two-week trial. The Boston-based vice president with aviation industry consulting firm Simat Helliesen & Eichner Inc. had provided the damage estimate for Hawaiian Airlines.

According to Engel, Hawaiian has lost $71 million as a result of the 15-month fare war. He said the company stands to lose another $102 million if the low-fare environment continues another 39 months.

He said those losses are attributable to Mesa's use of confidential information issued by Hawaiian.

Engel's testimony comes one day after Hawaiian Airlines said it will likely raise its fares if go! leaves.

It also comes on the heels of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris' ruling last week that Mesa based its decision to start go! on confidential information obtained from Hawaiian while the local carrier was in bankruptcy and seeking a buyer.

Due to Faris' ruling, the two-week trial is focusing on how much confidential material was used and how much in damages, if any, Mesa must pay.

Closing arguments are scheduled for tomorrow.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.