Mokulele Airlines has sued the parent of go! airlines alleging that the company engaged in anti-competitive behavior.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court yesterday, Mokulele said that Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group threatened to drive Mokulele out of business by choking off revenues owed under a code-share agreement with the two carriers.

The lawsuit comes less than a month after Mesa filed a separate lawsuit against Mokulele in federal court in Phoenix for failing to pay more than $390,000 in fuel costs.

"(Mesa's) misconduct is part of a plan to run (Mokulele) out of business so that (Mesa) will be one of only two main airlines in the interisland market," Moku-lele's attorney Margery Bronster wrote in the suit.

Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa's CEO, declined comment.

Since last year, Mokulele and go! operated a partnership known as go! Express, which serves smaller, less traveled routes in the interisland market using nine-seat Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft.

But last month, Mokulele announced that it was expanding its interisland service by partnering with Indianapolis-based Republic Airways to fly 70-seat Embraer 170 jets. The first Republic-Mokulele flight is scheduled for Nov. 19.

Mokulele said Mesa's Ornstein threatened its CEO William Boyer after Boyer disclosed his plans to partner with Republic.

"Mr. Ornstein threatened 'Mokulele is done,' 'We are going to bury you,' " Mokulele's lawsuit said.

The Mokulele lawsuit comes as a similar anti-trust lawsuit by defunct carrier Aloha Airlines is headed toward trial. Aloha shutdown on March 31 due to soaring fuel prices and a costly interisland fare war.