# Go! Airlines lawsuit



## Icarus (Sep 28, 2007)

I started a new thread for this, since this was off-topic in the other thread.

If you're not familiar with the story, both Aloha and Hawaiian sued Go! claiming that Go! used proprietary information that was made available to them during their bankruptcy proceedings when the airlines were being shopped around.

Mesa (Go!s parent) CFO was accused of deleting files from his work computer, which he claimed were deleted accidentally when he was attempting to remove Porn from his work computer .. an argument that was rejected by the judge. They also have a memo from Mesa's CFO stating that they should be the one's to push Aloha out of existence.



Judge says Hawaiian Air rival misused data



> A federal judge ruled yesterday that the parent of go! airline misused confidential information from Hawaiian Airlines when setting up the new interisland carrier.
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http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070928/NEWS01/709280383

-David


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## tompalm (Sep 29, 2007)

I think that the end of the article describes Mesa and the type of the company that they are a little better.  It says:

"Meanwhile, Dunkerley said he was "astonished" by the lengths that Mesa has gone through to defend its alleged misconduct.

"To put an employee — indeed a friend of the CEO for 30-odd years — to hang him out to dry, to push him under the bus, with this absolutely flimsy and transparent argument about pornography is unbelievable".

My take on it:  It is just another step that Ornstein will take to help himself.  By the way, his background includes the fact that he lost his job as a stock broker due to SEC violations.  Also, Mesa's stock is down to $4.44 today and was around $12 when they started GO.  The low prices have been great for the consumer, but they will not last.  Here is some info on the stock market:



Mesa's stock price is heading below HA's.

($4.58 vs. $4.23)

http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/charts.asp?symbol=MESA.O&WTmodLOC=L2-LeftNav-10-Charts

http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/charts.asp?symbol=HA

As of 3:00 p.m. e.t. on friday. . .
Mesa down 7% on the day to $4.44
HAL up 3% on the day ($1.00 or about 30% since start of trial on 9/25) to $4.38


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## Icarus (Oct 3, 2007)

Hawaiian Air says go! meant to oust Aloha



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.

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"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."

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

...

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071003/NEWS01/710030424

-David


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## camachinist (Oct 4, 2007)

This comes as no surprise to anyone who flies Messy with any regularity. 

I do a fair amount of mileage runs through IAD and Messy is infamous there. It's currently the only domestic regional I will purposely re-route to avoid.

Hope they get their peter smacked hard...

Pat


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## Icarus (Oct 31, 2007)

Notice the headline isn't "Hawaiian Airlines awarded $80M ruling", but the more sensational and "how does it affect me" headline of:

Hawaii air fares may rise after $80M ruling



> A judge yesterday ruled that go!'s parent, Mesa Air Group, must pay $80 million to Hawaiian Airlines for misusing confidential business information.
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Read the full article, including Ornstein's complaint that the Judge made the ruling based on the action of one person, Mesa CFO ("I was deleting Porn from my work computer when I accidentally deleted confidential business files" guy) Peter Murnane. (my commentary: As if the actions of its officers are unrelated to Mesa's business practices.) here:

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071031/NEWS01/710310398


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## Icarus (Nov 5, 2007)

*Mesa Air Group fires embattled CFO Murnane*

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Nov/05/br/br5817469320.html

-David


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## Carol C (Nov 7, 2007)

Aloha and Hawaiian are probably POed that Go came aboard as a discounter, forcing those majors to discount their inter-island flts. I got all my upcoming one ways for $39 each except for a Kona-Kahalui one way that goes direct without stopping at HNL...that one was only 58 bucks, well worth it (add junk fees, taxes and the rest). Mahalo to GO, the AirTran of the Hawaiian islands!


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## Stefa (Nov 7, 2007)

Carol C said:


> Aloha and Hawaiian are probably POed that Go came aboard as a discounter, forcing those majors to discount their inter-island flts. I got all my upcoming one ways for $39 each except for a Kona-Kahalui one way that goes direct without stopping at HNL...that one was only 58 bucks, well worth it (add junk fees, taxes and the rest). Mahalo to GO, the AirTran of the Hawaiian islands!



I heard speculation that go! was probably going to raise fares once either Hawaiian or Aloha was forced out.  I wouldn't be so quick to shower them with love.


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## Icarus (Nov 8, 2007)

Corporate conduct doesn't matter to a lot of people. They could be using child labor in third world countries, torturing animals, dumping nuclear waste into streams, and as long as they have the low price, people will flock to them.

If you think that Mesa is an altruistic company that entered the Hawaiin interisland market to make a profit by selling $19 and $39 fares, well, I've got some bridges that you might be interested in buying.

But none of that really matters, does it? Not when you can get that $39 fare.

On the other hand, Aloha and Hawaiian opened the door to them by charging so much for interisland travel in the first place.

-David


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Nov 8, 2007)

Carol C said:


> Aloha and Hawaiian are probably POed that Go came aboard as a discounter, forcing those majors to discount their inter-island flts. I got all my upcoming one ways for $39 each except for a Kona-Kahalui one way that goes direct without stopping at HNL...that one was only 58 bucks, well worth it (add junk fees, taxes and the rest). Mahalo to GO, the AirTran of the Hawaiian islands!



I agree with the concept of going with the lowest fare.  But, based on other posts Carol, I'm surprised that you would favor using an airline whose business model is to cut wages and benefits.  

IIRC - in the past you've posted critically of companies such as Wal*Mart because that is how they operate.  Go is just the airline equivalent of Wal*Mart. If you wouldn't patronize Wal*Mart because of their labor practices, you shouldn't be flying on Go.


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## Laurie (Nov 9, 2007)

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I agree with the concept of going with the lowest fare.  But, based on other posts Carol, I'm surprised that you would favor using an airline whose business model is to cut wages and benefits.
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> IIRC - in the past you've posted critically of companies such as Wal*Mart because that is how they operate.  Go is just the airline equivalent of Wal*Mart. If you wouldn't patronize Wal*Mart because of their labor practices, you shouldn't be flying on Go.


Carol didn't say she's flying on GO! ...


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