The parent of go! airline will put up $90 million of its own cash for a bond so it can appeal a ruling that it misused confidential information.

Jonathan Ornstein, Mesa Air Group's chief executive officer, said the bond won't affect Mesa's operations nor will it impact go!'s business since Mesa has $200 million to $220 million in cash.

"It's clearly a big issue. We will get it back," Ornstein said.

Mesa is appealing U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris' decision last month to award $80 million to Hawaiian Airlines for using confidential information to launch go! last year.

The Phoenix-based company also is asking for a new trial on the grounds that Faris abused his discretion by not allowing Mesa to introduce evidence that would have helped its case.

As part of the appeal process, Faris ruled yesterday that Mesa must post a $90 million bond.

The amount covers the judgment, $4.7 million in legal fees, $3.4 million for a year's worth of interest and $1.9 million for additional costs.

In its legal papers, Hawaiian asked for a bond of $98 million, which included $10 million in interest to cover a three-year period that an appeal could take.

Hawaiian argued that it needed the extra protection due to Mesa's dwindling cash position. Since launching go! in June 2006, Mesa's cash holdings have fallen from about $345 million to about $200 million.

Hawaiian attorney Sid Levinson also cited Mesa's sagging stock price, which fell to its lowest in more than 4 1/2 years yesterday. Mesa shares dropped 9 cents to close at $3.90 on the Nasdaq market.

Evan Jones, an attorney for Mesa, called Hawaiian's request excessive.

"Even the numbers the court has (calculated) provide more cushion than Hawaiian is entitled to," Jones said.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.