ON MESA, ACCORDING TO MESA
On Monday morning, Paul Skellon, Vice President of Mesa Air Group, parent company of go! Airlines, appeared on Sunrise on KGMB with Howard Dicus. Here are excerpts of what he said:
On taking over the Aloha brand:
Um, I think the main point for us is that, um, this provides a wonderful opportunity for us. We’re, um, extremely proud and humbled by, uh, the fact that we will, um, take over the guardianship if you like of, uh, a very iconic and well-loved brand, well-known brand, um, not only here in Hawaii, but throughout the United States and the Asia-Pacific area.
On winning over former Aloha employees who won’t even fly go!:
I think that the most important point for us is that we are going to share in this pride and sense of ownership and responsibility that, um, former Aloha employees enjoyed for many years and built this wonderfully iconic brand. Um, we understand the responsibility to carry-on that, uh, enduring reputation, and uh, I think that, um, it’s about looking forward for us. This is a wonderful opportunity to take the Aloha brand back into the skies, um, and to, uh, have it live again across America and around the Pacific.
Hey, don’t take my word for it, you can review the actual footage. I wish I was there to grill him, but Howard did an excellent job staying balanced.
ON MESA, BY OTHERS
There’s a fallacy in his logic there: Mesa/go! are one major reason the Aloha brand isn’t in the skies at this very moment.
Peter Forman, a local airline analyst shares (quoted from KHON footage that I watched live):
This would create a monster: an airline with the face of a friendly kamaaina company, but with the heart of a mainland predator.
But perhaps the best reaction was from Judge Lloyd King, who is overseeing these bankruptcy proceedings:
How about all the people whose lives were devastated in this case? Doesn’t that count? Is it just the money?
Maybe Judge King loved The Real Aloha as much as I did. Or maybe my post convinced him? Either way, yes, Your Honor, it is just about money. Yucaipa lost over $100 million on Aloha, so I understand their desire to make any money on that deal. And Mesa wanted to make a ton of money off of Hawaiian and The Real Aloha when they were down, in bankruptcy. Like Peter Forman says, they are “a mainland predator.”
Remember, please fly Hawaiian, Mokulele, or Island Air for your interisland travel needs!
Mahalo!
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