Aloha name sale is no-go!

Mesa Group's Go Airlines cannot re brand itself under the name Aloha, at least for now. A bankruptcy judge declared the name-rights auction invalid, and ordered a new auction.

It was a victory for Members of IAM Local Lodge 1245 in Honolulu. The rallied in protest of the proposed Aloha name sale, against a backdrop of cold Pacific rain.

Mesa and their “go!” subsidiary engaged in predatory pricing techniques. High fuel prices and unfair competition over more than a two year period conspired to put sixty year old Aloha Airlines out of business. Mesa's corporation then sought to acquire the name “Aloha Airlines” in what was supposed to be a public auction. When access was denied to members of the public, including Union representatives and a Honolulu newspaper reporter who criticized the name sale, bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King tossed out the auction results. The judge called the unauthorized private sale an “outrage.”

District 141 AGC Randy Kauhane praised Judge King's decision. “You just don't sell the name to someone who is credited in shutting down Aloha Airlines.” Kauhane acknowledges the victory may be temporary. The Machinists Union “will work our our tails off to prevent the sale of Aloha Airlines name to Mesa and go! airlines.”