So Can Go! (Mesa) Survive?

An email I received this morning from a reader got me thinking again about something we’ve already covered widely:

Hi Jeff,

I’m sure you’ve seen this but here is some news on Mesa Airlines and effect of $52M legal settlement with Hawaiian Airlines.

Thanks for your great coverage of Hawaii.

Mark

Thanks for the reminder.  The article from well-respected Morningstar is nothing new.  It states what we’ve been saying for months, that Mesa (Go!’s parent company) is facing a bleak future.  Based on restructuring, their $52 Million settlement to Hawaiian and inadequate cash, their stock sells for $0.29 a share.  They remain in lawsuits with (former partner and now competitor) Mokulele Airlines as well as bankrupt Aloha Airlines.

Earlier this morning I asked what the thinking is at the inter-island airlines.  They have too much capacity, too few passengers, and too high prices.  So perhaps this at least in part answers my question.

The basic thinking of Hawaiian and Mokulele may just be that if they do nothing, Mesa will implode and what we will be left with is yet another Hawaii inter-island airline duopoly.  Frankly I’m not much looking forward to that prospect, as each time that happens, we are saddled with unworkably high inter-island airfares.  Time will tell.

Note: If you are buying tickets on Go!, be prepared. Buy them with a credit card or consider travel insurance.