Hold on, Braddah. Put down those Chun Wah Kam boxes and ulua poles, slide your shades back up on your black baseball cap and take a seat. No sense rush the airport with the rest of the giddy true believers. You know better. You know this is all for show.

Remember what happened last time? And the time before that? And before that one, too? Yeah, that's right. You might be thrifty, but you not cheap, and you ain't gonna drop and run, not for nobody.

Every time a third interisland airline pops up on the scene, a fare war ensues, with all the subtlety and long-term impact of a three-minute supermarket spree for a hungry family. Sure, it's nice to get the free 20-pound turkey at Thanksgiving, but what about the rest of the year?

When Mahalo Airlines arrived in 1993 with the name borrowed from one of Rap Reiplinger's best-known comedy sketches, everybody thought the owners had to be joking. After all, the only Mahalo Airlines any of us ever heard of had party balloons for floatation devices.

But, no, the owners said they were serious, while they dressed their flight crew in shorts and collared T-shirts and offered $45 one-way kama'aina rates. That got cut to $25 when the new flights started. Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines matched that price. At one point, Mahalo tickets went as low as $10. Aloha followed suit while Hawaiian demurred. Neighbor Island hotels got a bump in occupancy thanks to all the local people who scored the discount tickets.

But it didn't last.

By 1997, Mahalo had filed for bankruptcy and soon went the way of Mid Pacific, Discovery Air, and SeaFlite interisland hydrofoils. (Like the gardenia-wearing flight attendant standing by the door always says, "Buh-bye!") And Aloha and Hawaiian were back to their pricey prices.

Mesa Air, parent of the new lowercase, punctuated airline go!, seems more financially stable and industryexperienced than previous third-carrier contenders, despite the quirky name. But we'll see. Everyone is on their best behavior right now.

Just when you think you've found the interisland airline relationship of your dreams and believe you're in a committed relationship, you realize that the feelings were mutual only as long as it was necessary. Your beloved starts coming in late with no apologies. You get bumped from a flight, they fling your bags or tell you you can't bring your grandmother's famous pickled mango on board because it's a hazardous material. And your heart gets broken all over again.

So while your head might be in the clouds, keep your feet on the ground and your eyes open.

After all, remember what your mama said about free flights — great while they last, but they never last long, and the price you pay later more than makes up for the 20 minutes of fun.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.