One day after warning of a potential bankruptcy, the owner of go! airline said it remains committed to the interisland market.

"I wish to reassure the people of Hawai'i that go! is here to stay," said Jonathan Ornstein, chief executive of Mesa Air Group.

"While Mesa, like the rest of the airline industry, is confronting challenges caused by high fuel prices and the difficult operating environment, we fully intend to maintain go!'s interisland operations."

On Thursday, Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group Inc. said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it may seek bankruptcy court protection if it can't stop Delta Air Lines Inc. from canceling a service contract that generates $20 million a month in revenue for Mesa.

The loss of the Delta contract, which is the subject of a lawsuit, could lead to a cascade of defaults, Mesa said.

Ornstein said go! is on track to carry the largest number of passengers since the company launched its interisland service in June 2006. He added that bookings for the summer are strong.

Hawaiian Airlines and go! are the only major interisland carriers operating in Hawai'i following the shutdown of Aloha Airlines in March.

With less competition and higher jet fuel costs, carriers have been raising prices.

Hawaiian announced Wednesday that next week it will increase its lowest fare to $64 from $54. Go! has yet to match the higher fares.

Hawaiian's new fares are nearly double the $39 standard fares of a year ago and well below the $19 and $29 specials the local carriers offered during the two-year interisland fare war.