Hawaiian Airlines has not only one venerable Hawaii aviation brand name, but a second one from a defunct former competitor.

The Aloha Airlines trade name since at least 2018 has been owned by a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings Inc., the parent of Hawaiian Airlines.

Alex Da Silva, a Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson, said in an email that the company acquired the trademarked Aloha Airlines name as part of a legal settlement, but would not comment further as to whom the settlement was with or what purpose Hawaiian Holdings had for obtaining the trade name.

“We can’t comment on legal settlements,” he said.

Local aviation historian Peter Forman said the arrangement protects Hawaiian Airlines from having to compete again against its previously most potent Hawaii rival.

“This move prevents somebody else using that name to compete against Hawaiian someday,” he said.

Forman also said it’s possible, but unlikely in his view, that Hawaiian Airlines, which is being acquired by Alaska Airlines in a buyout expected to be completed in 12 to 18 months that maintains both the Hawaiian and Alaska brands, could use the Aloha name to create a new division of one of the air carriers.

“I think, more than anything, it would be respectful not to use it,” he said.

Aloha ceased service in 2008 after seeking bankruptcy protection twice in five years. The shutdown of the airline, founded in 1946, resulted in 1,900 employees losing their jobs.

Yucaipa Cos., a California-based firm headed by billionaire Ron Burkle that led a purchase of Aloha Airlines in 2006 to complete a 2004 bankruptcy restructuring, took possession of the Aloha name as part of Aloha’s 2008 bankruptcy liquidation after a failed bid in 2009 to license the name to another airline that was a factor in Aloha’s demise.

Yucaipa, as the largest creditor in Aloha’s 2008 bankruptcy case, sought U.S. Bankruptcy Court permission to sell the Aloha name to the Phoenix- based parent of go! airlines, Mesa Air Group, as a way to resolve litigation by Yucaipa that alleged Mesa used confidential Aloha information during the 2004 bankruptcy to start go! and drive Aloha out of business.

Mesa had agreed to pay a minimum of $600,000 a year for 10 years, and possibly more depending on interisland ticket revenue, to license the Aloha name from Yucaipa.

However, federal Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King in 2009 blocked the deal, which had drawn opposition from former Aloha employees.

“Mesa succeeded in inflicting great harm, not only upon the Aloha corporate entities, but also upon thousands of Aloha employees and their families,” King wrote in his ruling. “Now, through Yucaipa, Mesa seeks to perfect its wrongdoing by becoming Aloha. It is difficult to imagine a court overlooking what Mesa has done and putting its stamp of approval on Mesa’s subsidiary, go!, becoming Aloha.”

As part of a 2010 follow- up order, King barred the Aloha name from being sold to Mesa in the future.

Mesa’s go! took flight in 2006 and ceased operations in 2014.

In 2013, Island Air, then owned by Lanai’s billionaire owner, Larry Ellison, was reportedly in discussions to buy the Aloha name from Yucaipa. Such a deal and rebranding never materialized.

A request for information from Yucaipa about what it did with the Aloha trade name did not receive a response last week.

Hawaiian Airlines had its own legal dispute with Mesa, but it doesn’t appear at least directly related to the acquisition of the Aloha name.

Hawaiian Airlines alleged in a 2006 complaint that Mesa used proprietary confidential information obtained in a 2003 Hawaiian Airlines bankruptcy reorganization case to unfairly compete against the Hawaii carrier.

After a trial in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Hawaiian Airlines in 2007 won an $80 million damage award against Mesa. After Mesa appealed, Hawaiian Airlines agreed to settle the case with Mesa and in 2008 received a $52.5 million cash settlement.