Contact: Douglas G. Voss
President and CEO
(307)432-7000

GREAT LAKES RESPONDS TO ANNOUNCEMENT BY MICHAEL TENNENBAUM

Cheyenne, Wyoming – February 19, 2001 – Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GLUX) today released a statement regarding the letter it recently received from Tennenbaum & Co. LLC, who currently owns 9.9% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Great Lakes.  In the letter, Tennenbaum stated that it was offering to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Great Lakes at a price of $4 per share.

The Board of Directors of Great Lakes is in the process of evaluating the offer.  The Board has established a special committee to conduct the evaluation and formulate a response to the offer.  The special committee will consist of the two non-employee directors of the company.  This special committee may hire a financial advisor to assist it in evaluating the offer from Tennenbaum. 

As reported on February 7, 2001, Great Lakes entered into a Code-Share Agreement with United Airlines and is in discussions with Frontier Airlines regarding an additional code sharing agreement for its Denver hub.  The company is analyzing the effect a change in control would have on these relationships.

Great Lakes is also in the process of undergoing other significant changes in its business.  As a part of this, the company is in the process of developing its own reservation capability and installing performance upgrades to its 30 seat Brasilia aircraft to facilitate usage at the higher elevation airports it serves from its Denver hub.  These capital expenditures will require additional financing.  The company is evaluating its financing alternatives concurrently with the special committee's evaluation of the offer by Tennenbaum.

Certain matters discussed within this press release may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.   Although Great Lakes believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained.  Factors that cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include general industry conditions, changes in local or national economic conditions, changes in public subsidy rates for the Essential Air Services Program, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's SEC reports, including the company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 1999.