Go! (airline)

Last updated
Go!
Go logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
YVASHAIR SHUTTLE
Founded2005
Ceased operationsApril 1, 2014
Hubs Honolulu International Airport
Frequent-flyer program Go! Miles
Subsidiaries Go!Express
Fleet size2
Destinations6
Parent company Mesa Air Group
Headquarters Phoenix, Arizona
Key people Jonathan G. Ornstein (CEO)
Christopher Pappaioanou (President)
Website www.iflygo.com
A CRJ-200 showing Go!'s original livery 425bd - Go! Canadair RJ200ER; N654BR@HNL;01.10.2006 (4949481061).jpg
A CRJ-200 showing Go!'s original livery
go! Mokulele CRJ-200 at Honolulu International Airport Go-Mokulele.jpg
go! Mokulele CRJ-200 at Honolulu International Airport
A CRJ-200 showing Go!'s simplified livery Go CRJ-200 OGG N87353.jpg
A CRJ-200 showing Go!'s simplified livery

Go! (styled as go!) was a regional brand of Arizona-based Mesa Airlines. Go! operated inter-island services within Hawaii. Its main base was Honolulu International Airport. [1] It was a division within the Mesa Airlines subsidiary of Mesa Air Group and its flights were operated by Mesa Airlines. [2] The airline ceased operations in Hawaii on April 1, 2014. [3] The company slogan was Hawaii's Low Fare Airline.

Contents

History

Regional carrier Mesa Airlines started Go!'s inter-island operations on June 9, 2006, [1] using five Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jet aircraft.

In September 2006, the airline announced that it had reached an agreement with Mokulele Airlines, whereby Mokulele would operate Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft to Kapalua, Molokai, and Lanai under the name Go!Express. Service began with flights from Kapalua to Honolulu, Kahului, and Kona on April 17, 2007. [4] [5] Service began for flights to Molokai on July 21, 2007 and flights to Lanai on October 6, 2007. Following Mokulele's agreement with Republic Airways Holdings to have that company operate flights in Hawaii using 70-seat jets, Mesa announced that it would be terminating the Go!Express agreement with Mokulele in April 2009. [6] The airline later accelerated plans to terminate the agreement with Mokulele, and ended the code-share on March 24, 2009, replacing it with a new agreement with Island Air that allowed Mesa to sell existing Island Air flights with the Go!Express name. [7]

On March 17, 2014, Mesa announced that Go! would cease service on April 1, 2014, with its aircraft re-deployed to support Mesa's operations on the U.S. mainland. The airline also stated that a long term increase in the cost of fuel had prevented the operation from being profitable. [3]

Lawsuits over formation

In February 2006, before the airline had started flying, Hawaiian Airlines filed a complaint for injunctive relief. In its complaint, Hawaiian Airlines noted that Mesa Air Group had been a potential investor during Hawaiian's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and as such, had access to confidential business data that it alleged Mesa then used in developing Go!. Hawaiian claimed that the confidentiality agreement under which potential investors were given access to the data prohibited the use of that information to compete with Hawaiian for a period of two years. [8]

In a memo explaining his decision to rule against Hawaiian's request for a preliminary injunction, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris wrote that e-mail made public during Hawaiian Airlines lawsuit raised "real doubts about the propriety of Mesa's conduct." [9]

In March 2006, Mesa filed a counter suit, claiming that Hawaiian was violating antitrust law by trying to keep Mesa out of Hawaii, using legal maneuvers to prevent Mesa from offering fares below the prevailing fares offered by Hawaiian. Mesa also alleged that Hawaiian had coerced two freight forwarders into refusing parts and equipment Mesa wanted to ship to Hawaii for the new airline. [10] Faris dismissed the counter suit on December 8, 2006, and at that time set an opening trial date on September 25, 2007. [11]

In October 2006, Aloha Airlines parent Aloha Airgroup filed a lawsuit similar to Hawaiian's, claiming that Mesa received confidential information during Aloha's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and improperly used it to enter the Hawaii inter-island market with the intent of driving Aloha out of business. [12]

On March 20, 2008, Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Citing record high fuel prices and inter-island competition with Go!, it ceased passenger operation 11 days later.

As the trial date approached, it became known that Mesa's chief financial officer, George "Peter" Murnane III, had e-mailed an acquaintance about a week after Hawaiian filed suit, first asking for information about how to delete files in such a way that they could not be discovered, then confirming that the files in question were deleted. [13] Mesa placed Murnane on paid administrative leave on September 22, 2007. [14] Hawaiian contended that Murnane deleted the files maliciously in an attempt to destroy evidence that would show that Mesa improperly used confidential data. Mesa contended that Murnane accidentally deleted the files in question in an attempt to remove pornographic material from his computer. [15]

On September 27, in a pretrial hearing, Faris preliminarily ruled that Mesa had misused confidential information in setting up Go!, and failed to return or destroy confidential data acquired during the bankruptcy proceedings. "The misuse was a substantial factor in Mesa's decision on entering the Hawaii market," said Faris. [16] Faris, however, deferred any decision on damages pending the outcome of the trial, saying it still needed to be decided whether the information existed in the public domain. [17] Following the hearing which lasted from September 28 to October 4, Faris ruled on October 30 that Mesa had misused the confidential information and ordered Mesa to pay Hawaiian $80 million, while rejecting Hawaiian's request to bar Go! from selling tickets for one year. [18] Following the ruling, Mesa requested a retrial claiming it had recovered the previously lost evidence on a third hard drive. On December 13, Faris denied the request on the basis that new evidence would likely not change the outcome of the trial, and the airline planned to proceed with its appeal of the decision to US District Court. [19] On April 30, 2008, the two airlines announced a settlement had been reached whereby Mesa would withdraw its appeal of the judgment and would pay Hawaiian $52.5 million. [20]

Attempted Name Change to Aloha

On November 28, 2008, Go!'s parent company, Mesa Air Group, announced that it had reached an agreement with Yucaipa Cos., the former majority holder of Aloha Airlines, to settle Aloha's lawsuit. Among the terms of the agreement was that Yucaipa would license the Aloha Airlines name to Mesa, which would rebrand the Go! operation as Aloha Airlines. [21] While Yucaipa was the successful high bidder for the rights to Aloha's name, bankruptcy judge Lloyd King temporarily blocked the deal and postponed a hearing on the deal until February 19, in order to give supporters and opponents time to respond. [22] On March 3, 2009, bankruptcy judge Lloyd King blocked the sale of Aloha's name and brand on the grounds that the auction was not public and must be reheld. [23] On May 14, 2009, he blocked Mesa from rebranding Go! as Aloha. [24]

Name change to Go! Mokulele

In October 2009, Mesa Air Group and Republic Airways Holdings merged their competing subsidiaries, Go! and Mokulele Airlines, into a joint venture, go! Mokulele. Mesa's CRJ-200 aircraft continued to operate jet service, supplemented by Mokulele's Cessna 208 Grand Caravan turboprop aircraft. Embraer 170 aircraft, operated on behalf of Mokulele by Republic subsidiary Shuttle America, were removed from Hawaii service. Mesa maintained a 75% stake in the joint venture, with Republic holding the remaining 25%. [25] Mokulele aircraft remained on the Mokulele operating certificate, while the go! Mokulele aircraft remained on the Mesa Airlines operating certificate.

During the concluding months of 2011 it was announced the complete divestiture of the Mokulele Airlines turboprop operations from Mesa Air Group's joint venture with Republic Airways Holdings. In June 2012, Mesa began the process of dropping the "go! Mokulele" name and reverting to "go!". [26]

2008 incident and investigation

The Federal Aviation Administration opened an investigation into whether two Go! pilots fell asleep during a 36-minute flight between Honolulu and Hilo. Flight 1002 on February 13, 2008, overshot Hilo Airport by 30 miles (26 nmi; 48 km), [27] remaining 21,000 feet (6,401 m) in the air as it missed the destination. Air traffic controllers were unable to reach the two pilots for 25 minutes, after which contact was re-established and the aircraft returned for a safe landing in Hilo. The pilots were later fired over the incident. [28] [29] On September 24, 2008 the FAA announced that the licenses of both pilots had been suspended. The Captain had his suspended for 60 days, while the First Officer had his suspended for 45 days. No action was taken against Go! because sufficient rest was provided for both crew members prior to the flight. During the investigations, however, it was found that the Captain in fact suffered from a sleep disorder known as severe obstructive sleep apnea. This is a condition that causes a person to stop breathing intermittently during sleep, thus preventing a full night's rest. [30]

Destinations

Mesa Airlines operated flights on behalf of Go! to the following destinations: [2]

United States

Fleet

As of October 2012, the Go! fleet consisted of the following aircraft. [31]

Go! Airlines Fleet
AircraftTotalPassengersRoutes
Bombardier CRJ200 250Commuter

As of October 2012, Go!'s average fleet age was 13.2 years. [32]

The airline had delayed plans to order eight to twelve larger aircraft, either the Bombardier CRJ900 or Embraer 195, to replace the CRJ200s. [33] [34]

Go! Miles

Each flight on Go! earned 500 miles in the airline's Go! Miles program. Upon accruing 5,000 miles, the participant was awarded one one-way segment on Go!.

Incidents and accidents

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaiian Airlines</span> Airline of the United States

Hawaiian Airlines is a commercial U.S. airline, headquartered at Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the island state of Hawaii, and the tenth largest commercial airline in the United States by passengers carried.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel K. Inouye International Airport</span> Airport serving Honolulu, Hawaii, United States

Daniel K. Inouye International Airport, also known as Honolulu International Airport, is the main and largest airport in Hawaii. The airport is named after Honolulu native and Medal of Honor recipient Daniel Inouye, who represented Hawaii in the United States Senate from 1963 until his death in 2012. The airport is in the Honolulu census-designated place 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Honolulu's central business district. The airport covers 4,220 acres (1,710 ha), more than 1% of Oahu's land.

Aloha Airlines was an airline in the United States that operated passenger flights from 1946 until 2008. It was headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from its hub at Honolulu International Airport.

Mesa Airlines, Inc., is an American regional airline based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is an FAA Part 121–certificated air carrier operating under air carrier certificate number MASA036A issued on June 29, 1979. It is a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group and operates flights as United Express via respective code sharing agreements with United Airlines. It serves more than 180 markets in the Western Hemisphere. In a 1997 article from the Journal of Air Transportation, Mesa's safety record was noted as having the fewest incidents among domestic regional airlines at that time. Mesa filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2010, hoping to shed financial obligations for leases on airplanes it no longer needed and emerged from bankruptcy in March 2011. In November 2017, Mesa opened a new training center in Phoenix. The 23,000-square-foot facility features a full-size CRJ200 cabin trainer aircraft, 14 classrooms, and has the capacity to train 300 crew members at one time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloha Airlines Flight 243</span> 1988 Hawaii aviation incident

Aloha Airlines Flight 243 was a scheduled Aloha Airlines flight between Hilo and Honolulu in Hawaii. On April 28, 1988, a Boeing 737-297 serving the flight suffered extensive damage after an explosive decompression in flight, caused by part of the fuselage breaking due to poor maintenance and metal fatigue. The plane was able to land safely at Kahului Airport on Maui. The one fatality, flight attendant Clarabelle "C.B." Lansing, was ejected from the airplane. Another 65 passengers and crew were injured. The substantial damage inflicted by the decompression, the loss of one cabin crew member, and the safe landing of the aircraft established the incident as a significant event in the history of aviation, with far-reaching effects on aviation safety policies and procedures.

Island Air was a commuter airline based in Honolulu, Hawaii. It operated scheduled inter-island passenger services in Hawaii. Its main base was the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport on Oahu.

Pacific Wings Airline was an American commuter airline headquartered in Mesa, Arizona, United States in Greater Phoenix. The airline operated flights under the brands New Mexico Airlines in New Mexico, GeorgiaSkies in Georgia, TennesseeSkies in Tennessee, and KentuckySkies in Kentucky, as well as under the Pacific Wings name in Hawaii. The airline was closed in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapalua Airport</span> Airport in Kapalua, Hawaii, United States

Kapalua Airport, also known as Kapalua–West Maui Airport, is a regional airport in the district of Mahinahina on the west side of Maui island in the state of Hawaii. It is located five nautical miles north of Lahaina, in Maui County. Most flights to Kapalua Airport originate from commuter airports on the other Hawaiian islands by commercial commuter services, unscheduled air taxis, and general aviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hilo International Airport</span> Airport in Hilo, Hawaii, United States

Hilo International Airport, formerly General Lyman Field, is a regional airport located in Hilo, Hawaiʻi, United States. Owned and operated by the Hawaii Department of Transportation, the airport serves windward (eastern) Hawaiʻi island including the districts of Hilo, Hāmākua and Kaʻū, and Puna. It is one of two international airports serving Hawaiʻi island, the other being Kona International Airport on the leeward (western) side.

Waimea-Kohala Airport is a state-owned public-use airport located one nautical mile southwest of Waimea, an unincorporated town in Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalaeloa Airport</span> Airport in Kapolei, Hawaii, U.S.

Kalaeloa Airport, also called John Rodgers Field and formerly Naval Air Station Barbers Point, is a joint civil-military regional airport of the State of Hawaiʻi established on July 1, 1999, to replace the Ford Island NALF facilities which closed on June 30 of the same year. Located on the site of the developing unincorporated town of Kalaeloa and nestled between the Honolulu communities of ʻEwa Beach, Kapolei and Campbell Industrial Park in West Oʻahu, most flights to Kalaeloa Airport originate from commuter airports on the other Hawaiian islands. While Kalaeloa Airport is primarily a commuter facility used by unscheduled air taxis, general aviation and transient and locally based military aircraft, the airport saw first-ever scheduled airline service begin on July 1, 2014, with Mokulele Airlines operating flights to Kahului Airport on Maui.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesa Air Group</span> Commercial aviation holding company

Mesa Air Group, Inc. is a Nevada Corporation commercial aviation holding company with headquarters in Suite 700 at 410 North 44th Street in the Camelback East area of Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The company operates one regional airline subsidiary: Mesa Airlines which operates as United Express and as American Eagle under contractual agreements with United Airlines and American Airlines respectively.

The Yucaipa Companies, LLC is an American private equity firm founded in 1986 by Ronald Burkle. It specializes in a private equity and venture capital, with a focus on middle-market companies, growth capital, industry consolidation, leveraged buyouts and turnaround investments. It generally invests $25–$300 million in companies with $300–$500 million in revenues.

Mokulele Airlines is a regional airline operating in Hawaii. The airline scheduled inter-island and charter flights, primarily between smaller airports and its hubs at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui and Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. The airline was acquired by Southern Airways Express in 2019 but continues to operate under its own brand. Both Southern Airways and Mokulele Airlines are subsidiaries of Surf Air Mobility, which purchased Southern in 2023.

FlyHawaii Airlines was a proposed low-cost airline that would have provided inter-island flight service in the Hawaiian Islands. The company, which was founded by Lion Coffee founder James Delano planned to begin service in late 2005 or early 2006.

Bill Boyer Jr. is a 50% owner and former CEO of Hawaii's Mokulele Airlines. In March 2009, he was replaced as the airline's CEO and was put in charge of expanding sales and marketing efforts after Republic Airways became a 50% shareholder. Boyer is a native of Tacoma, Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloha Air Cargo</span> Cargo airline of the United States

Aeko Kula, LLC, DBA Aloha Air Cargo, is an all-cargo airline in the United States, headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, operating from a hub at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Formerly Aloha Airlines, it became an independent cargo operator following the closure of the passenger airline in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go!Express</span>

Go!Express was the brand name for the regional airline service of go!, rather than a certificated airline carrier. Mokulele Airlines was the sole operator of Go!Express between April 17, 2007 and March 24, 2009, when their contract was canceled due to Mokulele's partnership with Shuttle America. On the same day, Go! began selling flights operated by Island Air as Go!Express. Rather than using dedicated aircraft on flights sold exclusively as Go!Express, Island Air's Go!Express service was provided by the carrier's existing flights and aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go! Mokulele</span>

go! Mokulele was an American business marketing inter-island flights within the state of Hawaii. The airline was a joint venture between Mesa Airlines and Mokulele Flight Services formed in October 2009 when the companies merged their competing airline business subsidiaries, go! and Mokulele Airlines, under one umbrella company. Mesa Air Group owned approximately 75% of the company, while Transpac and other Mokulele shareholders owned approximately 25%. The airline had its headquarters in Honolulu CDP, City and County of Honolulu. Following Mesa's late 2011 divestiture of its ownership stake in Mokulele, Mesa announced it was discontinuing the "go! Mokulele" brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation in Hawaii</span>

Hawaii's first aeronautical event was on 2 March 1889, when Emil L. Melville hung from a trapeze in a balloon. Hawaii's first aircraft flight was on 31 December 1910 by a Curtiss Biplane.

References

  1. 1 2 "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International . 2007-04-03. p. 87.
  2. 1 2 "go! Route Information". Mesa Air Group web site. Archived from the original on 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2007-05-19.
  3. 1 2 "Go! airlines to stop Hawaii operations on April 1". Honolulu Star-Advertiser . March 17, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2014.
  4. "go! and Mokulele Airlines Establish Code Share Agreement" (Press release). Mesa Air Group. 2006-09-14. Retrieved 2006-10-11.
  5. "go!Express launches". American City Business Journals . April 18, 2007.
  6. Segal, Dave (2009-01-13). "Go! cuts quarterly loss for third time". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  7. Segal, Dave (2009-03-23). "Mesa ends deal with Mokulele". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Archived from the original on 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
  8. Daysog, Rick (2006-02-14). "Hawaiian Airlines sues new competitor". The Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2006-06-03.
  9. Faris, Robert (2006-10-05). "Memorandum of Decision on Motion for Preliminary Injunction" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-10-10.
  10. Segal, Dave (2006-03-17). "Mesa countersues Hawaiian Air". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2006-06-05.
  11. "Judge throws out Mesa countersuit". American City Business Journals . December 8, 2006.
  12. "Aloha Airlines Sues Mesa Air Group for Misuse of Confidential Information" (Press release). Aloha Airgroup. 2006-10-13. Retrieved 2006-10-13.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. Rick Daysog (2007-09-23). "Deleted files at heart of Hawaiian v. Mesa trial". Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  14. "Key Mesa figure put on leave". Honolulu Advertiser . 2007-09-22. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  15. Rick Daysog (2007-09-24). "Mesa says key Hawaii files deleted in purge". Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  16. Rick Daysog (2007-09-28). "Judge says Hawaiian Air rival misused data". Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  17. Dave Segal (2007-09-28). "Mesa came to isles via Hawaiian's data". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  18. Daysog, Rick (2007-10-30). "Mesa ordered to pay Hawaiian Air $80M". The Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2007-10-30.
  19. Consillio, Kristen (2007-12-14). "Judge denies Mesa retrial". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  20. "Hawaiian settles Mesa lawsuit for $52.5M". American City Business Journals . April 30, 2008.
  21. Gomes, Andrew (2008-11-29). "Aloha Airlines name may return to Hawaii skies in Mesa deal". The Honolulu Advertiser . Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  22. Segal, David (2008-12-04). "No Aloha for go!". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  23. Segal, Dave (2009-03-03). "Judge invalidates Yucaipa purchase of Aloha name". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2009-03-03.
  24. Segal, David (2009-05-16). "No 'Aloha' for go!". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2009-05-16.
  25. "Mesa's go!, Republic's Mokulele form Hawaiian joint venture." ATW Daily News . Thursday October 15, 2009. Retrieved on October 19, 2009.
  26. Segal, Dave (June 21, 2012). "Airline's parent sheds less-than-sleek name and returns to 'go!'". Honolulu Star-Advertiser .
  27. "NTSB confirms pilots fell asleep - The Honolulu Advertiser - Hawaii's Newspaper" . Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  28. Daysog, Rick (2008-02-19). "FAA probing whether go! pilots fell asleep on flight". Honolulu Advertiser . Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  29. "Airline fires 2 pilots who overshot Hawaii runway". USA Today . Associated Press. 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  30. "FAA suspends sleeping airline pilots". NBC News. Associated Press. 2008-09-24. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  31. "Go! Fleet of CRJ (Active)".
  32. "Fleet age Go! - Airfleets aviation" . Retrieved 22 September 2016.
  33. Segal, Dave (2006-07-15). "Local airline battle flares anew". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2006-07-15.
  34. Segal, Dave (2007-01-26). "Mesa's delays plan to swap its fleet for larger aircraft". Honolulu Star-Bulletin . Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  35. 'The Aviation Herald' "Report: Mesa CRJ2 near Hilo on Feb 13th 2008, veered off course 26nm, both pilots asleep" Simon HradeckyWednesday, Dec 24th 2008 22:12Z (accessed 25 October 2009)