The sale of Aloha Airlines' lawsuit against the parent of go! airlines has been postponed until next week after a federal judge raised questions about the fairness of the bid process.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King said efforts to auction off Aloha's legal claims appear to favor the airline's main investor, Yucaipa Co., which was the only company to put in a bid.

According to King, potential buyers such as Mesa Air Group, the target of Aloha's lawsuit, haven't been given ample opportunity to provide a bid.

"It seems to me that this whole process is unfair because it cuts out potential bidders," King said.

Yucaipa Co. is offering to pay $10 million for the suit but none of that is cash.

Instead, the $10 million would be credited against the $100 million-plus that Aloha owes the investment firm.

A competing bidder would have had to offer at least $11 million in cash to top Yucaipa's offer.

King has scheduled a hearing for June 26, which will give Mesa time to consider bidding on the suit. It also will allow Yucaipa to modify the terms of its offer.

Jim Wagner, the attorney for court-appointed trustee Dane Field, said there are only two potential bidders — Yucaipa and Mesa — and only Yucaipa submitted an offer. He said Yucaipa is the only company that expressed a willingness to pursue and finance the lawsuit.

"At the end of the day, we believe this will result in a significant recovery for the estate," he said.

The Aloha lawsuit, which is scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in October, alleges that Mesa misused confidential information to launch interisland carrier go! and drive Aloha out of business.

A similar lawsuit by Hawaiian Airlines was settled earlier this year for $52.5 million

Founded in 1946, Aloha was the state's second-largest airline with more than 3,500 employees. The company shut down its passenger service and laid off 1,900 workers March 31 after losing more than $120 million in the past two years because of soaring fuel prices and a heated interisland fare war.