FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Matthews, VP Finance/CFO

       (307) 432-7000

Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. Reports July 2005 Traffic

CHEYENNE, Wyo., August 16, 2005 � Great Lakes Aviation, Ltd. (OTC Bulletin Board: GLUX.OB � news) today announced preliminary passenger traffic results for the month of July.

Scheduled service generated 10,113,000 revenue passenger miles (RPM�s), a 22.0 percent decrease from the same month last year.  Available seat miles (ASM�s) decreased 14.9 percent to 25,000,000.  As a result, load factor decreased 3.7 points to 40.5 percent.  Passengers carried decreased 18.5 percent to 38,442 when compared to July 2004. Preliminary revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 13.7 % from 23.54 cents to 26.77 cents.

For the seven months ending July 31, 2005 compared to the same seven month period in 2004, revenue passenger miles (RPM�s) decreased 14.7 percent to 66,505,000 and available seat miles (ASM�s) decreased 17.4 percent to 160,763,000, resulting in a load factor of 41.4 percent for the year 2005 compared to 40.1 percent for the same seven month period in 2004.  The company carried 249,270 revenue passengers for the seven month period ending July 31, 2005, a 11.1 percent decrease from the prior year.  Preliminary revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 15.8% from 21.59 cents to 24.99 cents on a year-over-year basis.

July 2005 AND YEAR TO DATE STATISTICS

July 2005 July 2004 Change

Passengers Enplaned  38,442   47,141   (18.5%)

Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 10,113 12,973   (22.0%)

Available Seat Miles (000) 25,000   29,364    (14.9%)

Load Factor    40.5%   44.2%   (3.7) points

RASM (cents)   26.77  23.54    13.7%

YTD 2005 YTD 2004 Change

Passengers Enplaned  249,270 280,265   (11.1%)

Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 66,505   77,958    (14.7%)

Available Seat Miles (000) 160,763 194,588   (17.4%)

Load Factor    41.4%  40.1%    1.3 points

RASM (cents)   24.99  21.59    15.8%

Great Lakes is providing scheduled passenger service at 39 airports in ten states with a fleet of Embraer EMB-120 Brasilias and Raytheon/Beech 1900D regional airliners. A total of 201 weekday flights are scheduled at three hubs, with 176 flights at Denver, 10 flights at Albuquerque, and 25 flights at Phoenix.  All scheduled flights are operated under the Great Lakes Airlines marketing identity in conjunction with code-share agreements with United Airlines and Frontier Airlines at the Denver International Airport and Phoenix International Airport hubs.

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