When go! Airlines recently announced it was leaving the Hawaii market, rival carrier Mokulele Airlines was eagerly expecting an uptick in business. However according to Mokulele COO Dave Berry, the exact opposite has happened.
He says confusion and a lack of a distinct brand identity has resulted in a sharp increase in no-shows for Mokule flights since go! pulled out of Hawaii.
He said around 10% of passengers are not showing up for Mokulele departures because they mistakenly believe the airline has stopped operating.
The confusion stems from the fact that go! and Mokulele Airlines were under the same ownership until 2011 and continued to fly under the same go! Mokulele brand name.
Also, up until last week, the two airlines were still aligned in a codeshare agreement allowing each to sell seats on the other airline’s operated flights.
"Ever since then, we have been two different companies, but people are still associating go! airlines with us and think that Mokulele is going out of business, which is not the case," Berry said.
Go! operated its final flight in Hawaii at the end of last month.
Mokulele also said it will now offer non-stop flights between Honolulu and Kahului – a former go! route – starting at two flights daily with fares from $79 one-way.
