Great Lakes Aviation Reports June and Second Quarter, 2001 Traffic

CHEYENNE, Wyo., July 10  -- Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd (NASDAQ: GLUX - news) today announced preliminary passenger traffic results for the month of June.

Great Lakes' traffic was affected by flight cancellations over a four day period in late June when 21 of its aircraft sustained hail damage from a severe thunderstorm at the Denver International Airport.

Scheduled service generated 20,999,360 revenue passenger miles (RPMs), a 13.2 percent decrease from the same month last year. Available seat miles (ASMs) decreased 16.0 percent to 38,019,694. As a result load factor increased 1.7 points to 55.2 percent. The company carried 82,581 passengers, an 18.4 percent decrease compared to June, 2000.

For the three months ended June 30, 2001, RPMs decreased 10.1 percent to 58,988,259 compared to the same three months in 2000 while ASMs decreased by 12.8 percent to 112,363,593 for the quarter in 2001 compared to 2000. As a result, load factor increased to 52.5 percent for 2001 compared to 50.9 percent for the same three month period in 2000. The company carried 237,210 passengers for the three months ended June 30, 2001, a 12.4 percent decrease compared to the same three months in 2000.

For the six month period ended June 30, 2001 compared to the same six month period in 2000, RPMs decreased 10.3 percent to 111,702,151 while ASMs decreased 11.3 percent to 230,490,048, resulting in a load factor of 48.5 percent for 2001 compared to 48.0 percent for the same six month period in 2000. The company carried 459,980 passengers for the six months ended June 30, 2001, an 11.1 percent decrease on a year over year basis.

               June, Second Quarter And Year-To-Date Statistics
                                   June, 2001   June, 2000     Change
    Passengers Enplaned                82,581      101,185     -18.4%
    Revenue Passenger Miles (000)      20,999       24,187     -13.2%
    Available Seat Miles (000)         38,020       45,246     -16.0%
    Load Factor                         55.2%        53.5%    +1.7 Pts.
                                 2nd Qtr 2001  2nd Qtr 2000    Change
    Passengers Enplaned               237,210       270.654    -12.4%
    Revenue Passenger Miles (000)      58,988        65,627    -10.1%
    Available Seat Miles (000)        112,364       128,822    -12.8%
    Load Factor                         52.5%         50.9%   +1.6 Pts.
                                   YTD   2001    YTD   2000   Change
    Passengers Enplaned               459,980       517,181    -11.1%
    Revenue Passenger Miles (000)     111,702       124,583    -10.3%
    Available Seat Miles (000)        230,490       259,814    -11.3%
    Load Factor                         48.5%         48.0%   +0.5 Pts.

As of July 9, 2001, Great Lakes Airlines flights were being provided at 55 airports in fifteen states with a fleet of eight Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias and 40 Beechcraft 1900D's. A total of 288 weekday flights are scheduled at three hubs with 288 weekday flights at Denver, 36 flights at Chicago-O'Hare, and 14 flights at Minneapolis-St. Paul. In addition, the company operates 4 weekday round trip flights between Springfield, Ilinois, the State Capital, and Meigs Field on the lake front adjacent to downtown Chicago.

Additional company information is available on its web site which may be accessed at www.greatlakesav.com .

CONTACT: Dick Fontaine, Senior VP - Marketing, 307-432-7020