Mesa Air Group stopping Go service in Hawaii
Mesa Air Group ending interisland Hawaii service, redeploying planes to mainland US
HONOLULU (AP) -- Mesa Air Group plans to end its interisland Hawaii flights on April 1, redeploying its planes to other markets in the mainland U.S, company officials said.
Mesa's Go! service served nearly 5 million passengers during a nearly eight-year run, they said. Other parts of the operation make up more than 98 percent of the airline's business.
Mesa CEO Jonathan Ornstein said one factor in ending the service is the price of fuel, which he says has more than doubled since the service started in June 2006.
"While this was an extremely difficult decision to reach, we believe it is in the best interest of Mesa's long-term strategic objectives," Ornstein said.
Ornstein said the company has significant opportunities to expand by flying regional jets under contracted services.
The airline said passengers will be rebooked through Hawaiian Airlines or given a refund if they can't be accommodated.
"Go! will continue to provide its passengers with safe and reliable transportation through its last day of service and will work with our passengers and Hawaiian Airlines to minimize the impact that this announcement will have on our passengers," said Chris Pappaioanou, Go!'s president.
Mesa has 71 planes, serving 85 cities in 36 states along with the District of Columbia, Canada and Mexico.
