Interisland carrier ends controversial run

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Jamm Aquino / jaquino@staradvertiser.com
Passengers waited Monday to check in for their flights at go! Airlines’ ticketing counter during the final day of operation for the interisland carrier.

Go! Airlines, which stormed the Hawaii market eight years ago with rock-bottom airfares, quietly exited the state Monday night after completing its final interisland flight.

Go! officials said the company will focus on maximizing the growth of parent company Mesa Air Group, which operates regional service on the mainland for United Airlines and US Airways. The cost of jet fuel, which more than doubled during go!’s tenure in Hawaii, made it difficult to sustain profitability, the officials said.

The last scheduled go! service in Hawaii was a nonstop flight from Hilo to Honolulu.

Go! started in Hawaii on June 9, 2006, with $39 one-way interisland fares and a special introductory promotion of $19 fares. The airline marked its first anniversary of Hawaii service with one-way fares of $1.

But while passengers welcomed the low fares, go! was widely blamed for contributing to the demise of Aloha Airlines. Aloha filed for its second bankruptcy March 20, 2008, and 11 days later ceased passenger operations.

When go! entered the Hawaii market, Aloha had been out of its first bankruptcy for just four months. With go! keeping fares low, Aloha was never able to regain its footing and was forced to file for bankruptcy again.

Go! had scaled down its operations in Hawaii over the past few years, reducing its fleet down to just two 50-seat CRJ 200 aircraft, less than half what it had at its peak. The majority of go!’s 80 Hawaii-based employees, mostly pilots and flight attendants, will relocate to the mainland, airline officials said.

The airline was frequently in the news as a result of flight delays and cancellations. Go! earned the dubious honor of being listed by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the only carrier in 2013 with a flight — Kona to Honolulu — that was chronically late for four consecutive months.

The airline had 32 flights that were chronically late for two or more months through midyear.

ROUGH RIDE

Hawaii’s interisland airline market has had its share of turbulence:

>> Sept. 23, 2005 — Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group Inc. announces it will enter the Hawaii market.
>> Feb. 13, 2006 — Hawaiian Airlines sues Mesa for breaching a confidentiality agreement and using proprietary information gained as a prospective investor during Hawaiian’s bankruptcy to prepare for entry into the Hawaii market.
>> June 9, 2006 — Go!, a regional brand of Mesa, begins service in Hawaii with promotional $19 one-way interisland fares.
>> Sept. 14, 2006 — Go! reaches agreement with Mokulele Airlines to operate nine-seat turboprop Cessna Grand Caravans to small interisland airports under the name go! Express.
>> Oct. 13, 2006 — Aloha files a lawsuit similar to Hawaiian’s that Mesa received confidential information during Aloha’s recent bankruptcy.
>> Oct. 30, 2007 — Federal Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris rules that Mesa misused confidential information and orders Mesa to pay Hawaiian $80 million.
>> March 20, 2008 — Aloha files again for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — about two years after emerging from reorganization — citing high fuel prices and interisland competition with go!
>> March 31, 2008 — Aloha ceases passenger operations.
>> April 30, 2008 — Mesa and Hawaiian announce a $52.5 million settlement of the lawsuit.
>> Nov. 28, 2008 — Mesa settles its lawsuit with Aloha for $2 million, 10 percent of Mesa’s common stock, travel benefits on go! for former Aloha employees and the licensing rights to re-brand go! as Aloha. Federal bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King later rejects the licensing portion of that agreement because of Mesa’s alleged misconduct in the Hawaii market.
>> March 24, 2009 — Mesa terminates its go! Express code-share with Mokulele after Mokulele reaches agreement with Indianapolis-based Republic Airways to have that company operate flights in Hawaii using 70-seat jets.
>> Oct. 13, 2009 — Go! and Mokulele’s majority investor, Republic Airways, agree to combine operations in a joint venture with the new entity renamed go! Mokulele and Mesa retaining ownership of 75 percent of the company.
>> Jan. 5, 2010 — Mesa files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but go! Mokulele is not part of the filing.
>> March 1, 2011 — Mesa emerges from bankruptcy as a privately held company after eliminating more than 100 aircraft and canceling all existing shares of its publicly traded stock.
>> Nov. 16, 2011 — Mesa announces it has sold its four nine-seat Cessna Caravans acquired in the Mokulele joint venture to Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Transpac Aviation Inc., doing business as Mokulele Flight Services Inc., and will continue to offer service under the go! Mokulele brand.
>> March 11, 2014 — Hawaiian’s turboprop operation, ‘Ohana by Hawaiian, debuts with its first flight to Molokai in 10 years.
>> March 31, 2014 — Go! ceases operations.

Source: Star-Advertiser research