Mesa Air Group Settles Aloha Lawsuit
Mesa Air Group Settles Aloha Lawsuit and Agrees to Enter Long Term Licensing Agreement
Friday November 28, 5:41 pm ET
Mesa Air Group, Inc. today announced that it entered into a settlement with the former controlling shareholder of Aloha Airlines concerning the Aloha Airlines lawsuit over Mesa's Hawaiian inter-island flight services operated under the go! brand name. Under the terms of the settlement, and without admitting any wrongdoing, Mesa agreed:
-- Mesa will make a cash payment of $2 million;
-- Mesa will issue shares of Mesa common stock equal to 10% of its currently outstanding shares;
-- Mesa will provide certain Hawaiian inter-island travel benefits to the former employees of Aloha Airlines;
-- In the event the shareholder is able to purchase the "Aloha" name in the upcoming bankruptcy court auction, it will license the "Aloha" name to Mesa.
"We are extremely pleased to resolve all claims put forward in this litigation and look forward to re-branding service under the Aloha name in the near future," said Jonathan Ornstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mesa. "This settlement resolves all claims by Aloha Airlines related to Mesa's entry into the Hawaiian inter-island market and permits us to focus solely on our core competency of providing the best service, convenient schedules and low fare pricing to our customers. We intend to carry on Aloha's proud tradition, maintain Mesa's status as Hawaii's low cost air carrier and look forward to future growth opportunities made possible by this settlement.
WOW, just WOW, I don't even know what to say....