Mokulele Airlines Enters Joint Venture with Mesa Air Group

Two interisland airlines are joining forces to offer service under a joint venture agreement announced today.  Under the joint venture between Mokulele Airlines and Mesa Air Group, Inc., the companies will provide inter-island air service under both the Mokulele and go! brands.  The combined service will create Hawaii’s second-largest inter-island airline.

File photo by Wendy Osher.

Existing reservations booked on both airlines will be honored. Passengers will continue to book travel on both Mokulele (www.mokuleleairlines.com) and go! (www.iflygo.com) websites and check-in for jet services at the newly co-branded go!/Mokulele ticket counters.

Mokulele jet routes currently operated by Republic Airways’ Shuttle America subsidiary will be transitioned to jet service provided by Mesa Airlines beginning Thursday (October 15) this week.  Mokulele Express operating scheduled service in the Mokulele Cessna Caravan fleet between Honolulu-Moloka’i, Kahului-Moloka’i and Kona-Kahului remains unchanged.

“Mokulele’s mission has always been to provide affordable, reliable inter-island air service to both local travelers here in Hawaii and to the many who come to visit this beautiful state,” said Scott Durgin, CEO of Mokulele Airlines. “Unfortunately, the global economic crisis has dramatically decreased air travel and tourism, and these effects have been sorely felt in Hawaii. The agreement will allow us to continue offering a low-fare schedule, one that is appropriate to the level of demand in the market today.”

Durgin added, “I want to offer my sincerest gratitude to the employees of Mokulele, who worked so hard to build up this company and worked tirelessly as a team to create new alliances and collaborations that will serve us well in the long term. We are grateful for the many loyal customers who were quick to return, having experienced the exceptional travel experience our staff provide.  We made tremendous strides during extremely daunting economic and industry conditions but those same conditions necessitate the steps we are announcing today to position the Mokulele brand for future success as a key component of Hawaii’s second-largest airline operation.”

Commenting on how this will affect employees, Durgin said, “We are jointly taking a close look at how we can create greater efficiencies in the combined operation and deploy our workforce in ways that make for a viable second airline. We are working very hard to preserve every job,” he added.

Mesa Air Group Chairman and CEO, Jonathan Ornstein said, “We are pleased to partner with Mokulele in launching this joint venture.  We look forward to building on this strategic partnership, which will create opportunities for future growth of both the go! and Mokulele brands.”

(Posted by Wendy Osher; Information released by Mokulele Airlines)