The Transportation Department (DOT) has issued a cease-and-desist order against Mauiva, a public charter operator based in Altamonte Springs, Fla., alleging deficiencies in the way the firm promoted its charters and handled passenger funds.
The DOT also assessed a compromise penalty of $50,000, half of which will be waived if the company refrains from similar violations for one year.
According to the DOT, the company’s website in 2011 made references to “our aircraft” and “our fleet,” along with photos of aircraft in Mauiva livery, that could have misled consumers into thinking that the company was an air carrier.
During the same period, the DOT said, the website failed to identify the actual airline operating the flights, a lapse that the DOT said was repeated in a Living Social promotion last year and in a Groupon promotion this year.
The DOT also said that some funds from charter passengers did not go into escrow as required.
Don Hundley, Mauiva’s director of marketing, told Travel Weekly, “Our organization has taken responsibility for the possible shortcomings in our marketing language and has accepted the penalty levied by the DOT. We have already addressed the nomenclature we use to describe the Mauiva AirCruise experiences and have worked closely with the DOT to ensure our marketing efforts are in full compliance with their regulations. Despite the fact that our intent was never to confuse consumers, we recognize that small companies like ours often endure growing pains and tough lessons learned, and this is one of those instances.”
The company said the livery depicted on its website is that of a subsidiary that operates as an air taxi under the name Mauiva Airlines.