Wed, May 20, 2009
US Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King
apparently was not impressed by all the nice things Mesa Air Group
wanted to do for the former emplyees of Aloha Airlines. The
Associated Press reports King ruled last week that Mesa cannot use
the "Aloha" name on its Hawaiian "go!" subsidiary, even through a
licensing deal with the former Aloha stockholder who now controls
the bankrupt company's assets.
"go!" came on the scene in 2006, providing serious price
competition in what had been a very sleepy inter-island
marketplace. Mesa was found to have engaged in illegal
anti-competitive behavior when it presented itself as a bidder for
struggling Hawaiian Airlines, then used information gained
confidentially to compete with Hawaiian and Aloha. Mesa was ordered
to pay a settlement of 80-million dollars.
Aloha succumbed to the price war, shutting down service last
year. Mesa was moving to take over the name and intellectual
property of the former Aloha airlines for as little as 6-million
dollars. The seller was Yucaipa Companies, LLC, which reportedly
lost investments totalling 113-million dollars when Aloha went
bust. Mesa had also promised to provide some additional benefits to
former Aloha workers displaced by the shutdown.
The apparent attempt to buy out Aloha's good reputation has not
sat well with Judge King, who has now blocked the name change, even
though Yucaipa was the winning bidder for Aloha's assets. In his
denial he said, in part, quote...
"Mesa succeeded in inflicting great harm, not only upon the
Aloha corporate entities, but also upon thousands of Aloha
employees and their families. Now, through Yucaipa, Mesa seeks to
perfect its wrongdoing by becoming Aloha."
"As a further complication, Mesa's past dishonesty in this court
will surround any hearing in which its veracity is at issue with an
atmosphere of disbelief."
More News
Light Gun A handheld directional light signaling device which emits a brilliant narrow beam of white, green, or red light as selected by the tower controller. The color and type of>[...]
"The journey to this achievement started nearly a decade ago when a freshly commissioned Gentry, driven by a fascination with new technologies and a desire to contribute significan>[...]
Aero Linx: JAARS, Inc. For decades now, we’ve landed planes on narrow rivers and towering mountains. We’ve outfitted boats and vehicles to reach villages that rarely se>[...]
"Our driven and innovative team of military and civilian Airmen delivers combat power daily, ensuring our nation is ready today and tomorrow." Source: General Duke Richardson, AFMC>[...]
Aircraft Conflict Predicted conflict, within EDST of two aircraft, or between aircraft and airspace. A Red alert is used for conflicts when the predicted minimum separation is 5 na>[...]