July strong for isle carriers

Hawaiian, and Aloha and go! all cite high load factors

Mesa Air Group Inc., bracing for a court trial next month in a lawsuit filed by Hawaiian Airlines, said yesterday that its interisland carrier go! filled more seats on its planes in July than in go!'s 13-month history.

go!, which used promotions as low as $1 one way to boost seating on its 50-seat CRJ-200s, had a load factor of 82.7 percent in July that topped its year-earlier 73.9 percent -- its previous high for a full month of operation.

Hawaiian also released its July traffic numbers yesterday, but the data doesn't separate trans-Pacific and interisland routes. Systemwide, Hawaiian filled a fewer percentage of its seats in July than a year earlier after the carrier added four additional aircraft and routes. Hawaiian's load factor last month was 87.4 percent, down 1.9 points from 89.3 percent in July 2006. Hawaiian flies 123-seat Boeing 717s interisland and 264-seat Boeing 767s to the mainland.

Spokesman Keoni Wagner noted, though, that the number of interisland passengers that Hawaiian has carried this year are up year over year every month through July.

The two carriers are scheduled to meet in a Bankruptcy Court trial on Sept. 25. Hawaiian alleges in its complaint that Mesa misused confidential and proprietary information that was provided by Hawaiian in 2004 when Mesa was a potential investor during Hawaiian's bankruptcy.

"After our most successful month ever, I think it's safe to say we have received tremendous acceptance as an integral part of Hawaii's transportation system," Mesa Chairman and Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein said.

Go! also set a high for most passengers carried with 75,255, up 8 percent from 69,680 a year ago. Its available seat miles -- one seat transported one mile -- fell 1.5 percent to 13.1 million from 13.3 million, while its revenue seat miles, or the total miles flown by paying passengers, grew 10.2 percent to 10.8 million from 9.8 million.

Hawaiian transported 656,044 passengers systemwide, up 14.8 percent from 571,569 a year earlier. Its available seat miles increased 19.2 percent to 833.3 million from 698.9 million, while its revenue passenger miles gained 16.8 percent to 728.5 million from 623.9 million.

Aloha Airlines, which is privately held, doesn't release its monthly traffic numbers, but spokeswoman Stephanie Ackerman said yesterday that the carrier's systemwide load factor was 84.2 percent in July, up from 78.2 percent a year earlier. Aloha flies 127-seat Boeing 737-200s interisland and 124-seat Boeing 737-700s to the mainland.