Yucaipa Companies, a major Aloha share holder, has submitted the highest bid for the right to Aloha's intellectual properties including the Aloha name, logo, and look. Yucaipa plans to license the properties to Mesa Air Group. And Mesa plans to use the Aloha brand on go!, a Mesa subsidiary.

"When I look at this right now, I'm looking at what Aloha used to be," said former Aloha pilot Wayne Wakeman while looking at a model of an Aloha jet. "And I don't see that anymore with what's going on."

Wakeman, like many of the other 3,500 people who lost their jobs when Aloha shut down, feels it is wrong for one time rival go! to acquire the Aloha brand.

"First of all I think it is a travesty that a company who has tried to run us out of business now wants to use our name. It just tells me that they can't even brand their own name or their own logo. I mean, in my opinion, it only now becomes a name. It's missing the spirit of Aloha which is the heart and soul of the (former Aloha) employees," Wakeman added.

Aloha's intellectual properties were auctioned off Tuesday, December 2. Hawaiian Airlines bid $575,000. Yucaipa out did Hawaiian by bidding $750,000.

Bankruptcy judge Lloyd King could have approved the sale during a hearing Wednesday, but instead delayed his decision until at least February 19, 2009 when another hearing will be held.

"Knowing some of the sentiment of past employees toward Mesa the court wanted to give interested parties an opportunity to comment on the proposed sale to Yucaipa," said Jim Wagner, attorney for the trustee of the Aloha Airlines Estate.

Wagner told KGMB9 even if former Aloha workers express opposition, he expects the sale will go through.

"As much as it may grind on past employees a little bit, this turns out to be a good way of getting money into the estate," Wagner added.

As much as former Aloha workers do not want to see go! using the Aloha name and look, it would actually be good for them financially. The employees are creditors in the case. They are owed money, and the more money the Aloha estate gets, the more that can be divided up among former employees.

"I don't want to mislead anybody. It's only going to be a small percentage of that (what they are owed). There just isn't enough asset left to go around," Wagner added.

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