Judge orders purported new airline to stop selling tickets to Hawaii HONOLULU (AP) =97 A judge has granted a request by Hawaii officials and=20 ordered a company claiming to be an airline not to sell any more=20 bargain-priced tickets between Honolulu and Los Angeles. The state obtained= =20 a temporary restraining order against Mainline Airways after an=20 investigation found the company had not filed an application with the=20 Federal Aviation Administration to operate a charter airline and doesn't=20 have any planes, officials said Monday. "It takes more than a Web site to=20 start an airline," said Mark Recktenwald, director of the state Department= =20 of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. "From the evidence gathered thus far it=20 does not appear that Mainline has much more than that." Circuit Court Judge= =20 Elizabeth Hifo, who issued the temporary restraining order on Friday, will= =20 hold a preliminary injunction hearing on the order and on a lawsuit against= =20 the company next Monday. Mainline Airways has been offering fares as low as $89, plus $30 in taxes=20 and fees, for one-way flights between Honolulu and Los Angeles starting=20 July 3. That is about half the lowest fares offered by established=20 airlines. The Web site was still operating on Monday, with a reservations=20 section inviting passengers to purchase nonrefundable tickets by credit=20 card. Luke R. Thompson, named in the court order and identified on a=20 company letterhead as Mainline's chief executive, responded to a request=20 for an interview by fax on Monday. The fax said he wasn't aware of the=20 court order and had not been notified. "Until I see the order, I must=20 assume that this is hype being perpetuated by competition," he wrote. Thompson offered no background on himself or independent verification that= =20 his company exists as an airline. He did not immediately return calls to a= =20 number on the letterhead. Stephen Levins, spokesman for the state Office of= =20 Consumer Protection, said the state has tried to notify Thompson, but he=20 was unaware whether he had received the actual order. Levins said that although the company claims to operate from Wellesley,=20 Mass., officials believe Thompson is located in Yardley, Pa. The Secretary= =20 of State's office in Massachusetts does not list the airline as a licensed= =20 state business. Thompson said in his fax that he is now located in=20 Henderson, Nev. The fax listed a Henderson street address with a telephone= =20 number in New Jersey and a fax number in New York City. Thompson, in the fax, said his company's plans to file necessary papers=20 with the Department of Transportation have been hampered by other=20 companies, which he said are moving "VERY slow and the fact that we drive a= =20 hard bargain makes it even slower." The fax says transactions done on his=20 Web site are considered "pre-sale" reservations, and that customers will=20 receive credit on their cards if the company is unable to honor their=20 reservations. But the company has violated an FAA regulation prohibiting=20 anyone from advertising or offering flights without the proper=20 authorization from the FAA, said Tweet Coleman, the agency's Pacific=20 representative. "We were aware that they were only a Web site, that they=20 are not an airline," she said. Levins said his office has received calls from some of the people who have= =20 already purchased tickets from the Web site. It was unclear how many people= =20 had used the site. The company claims to operate "an exclusive fleet of=20 state-of-the-art, Boeing commercial aircraft." But the state has no=20 information that Mainline even has an airplane, Levins said. Thompson said= =20 that is because his company plans to subcontract the flights. The company=20 also appears to have no authority to operate out of Los Angeles or=20 Honolulu, and has no gates, desks or employees at either airport, Levins= said. The state has also filed a lawsuit charging Mainline and Thompson with=20 engaging in unfair or deceptive practices by misrepresenting their=20 authority to sell tickets, their ability to fly and their carrier status. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************