Arbitrator was wrong,
Island Air CEO says

Island Air's chief executive, Robert Mauracher, said yesterday that an arbitrator was incorrect in ruling that the sale of the carrier by Aloha Airgroup Inc. to San Francisco-based Gavarnie Holding LLC was similar to a lease.

The Air Line Pilots Association had claimed that terms of the sale kept Aloha Airgroup connected to Island Air and violated a union contract prohibiting Island Air from flying between the state's five main airports. Aloha disagreed.

Arbitrator Richard Bloch ruled in favor of the union in April. Terms of the deal called for Aloha to perform reservation and accounting services for Island Air for two years, although that changed after Aloha filed for bankruptcy last December.

"We are a separate company, a separate legal entity with a separate management team and we have a different ALPA chapter," Mauracher said. "We manage ourselves and Aloha doesn't tell us when to fly, how to fly or where to fly."