HONOLULU – Dec. 8, 2006 - Hawaiian Airlines' lawsuit against Mesa Airlines took a significant step forward today, when Mesa's antitrust counterclaim against Hawaiian was rejected by US Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris.
Today's ruling rejected Mesa's last remaining counterclaim against Hawaiian and cleared the way for a trial on Hawaiian's claims against Mesa for breach of contract and misuse of Hawaiian's proprietary information.
“Mesa's arguments were never more than an attempt to distract from our suit against them and from their predatory behavior. Now that the court has thrown out the last of their counterclaims, we're anxious to move forward with our case against Mesa and the substantial damage they are causing,” said President and CEO Mark Dunkerley.
In today's hearing, Judge Faris also set September 25, 2007 as the opening trial date for Hawaiian's suit against Mesa.
About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian was the nation's number one carrier for on-time service, fewest flight cancellations and best baggage service reliability in 2005, according to reports by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer travel surveys conducted by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and Zagat all rank Hawaiian as the top domestic airline serving Hawaii.
Now in its 78th year of continuous service in Hawaii, Hawaiian is the state's biggest and longest-serving airline, and the second largest provider of passenger air service between Hawaii and the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities than any other airline (nine), as well as service to Australia, American Samoa and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides approximately 100 daily jet flights among the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (AMEX and PCX: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com.