Goodbye Aloha - historic carrier shuts down

Hawaii tourism has taken a huge hit, at least in the short term. Aloha Airlines is shutting down passenger operations today (Monday, March 31) after 61 years in the airline business. This is the last day of operations of interisland passenger service. Aloha says it will not fly from Hawaii to the West Coast today, nor will it operate service from Orange County (SNA) to Reno (RNO) and Sacramento, or Oakland (OAK) to Las Vegas (LAS).

The move cuts a swath of seats to and from Hawaii, specifically from the U.S. Mainland.

“Over the next few days, there will no doubt be travel inconveniences caused by Aloha's departure,” says a prepared statement by the Hawaii Tourism Authority (HTA) (pdf format). However, HTA contends that in the long term “there will be minimal disruptions to Hawaii's interisland and transpacific air service”.

Hardest hit in terms of lift to the Islands will be passengers living in Mainland areas such as Sacramento (SMF), Reno (RNO), Orange County (SNA). In those cities Aloha was - depending on the destination - the sole provider of flights to either Honolulu (HNL) or Maui (OGG).

Aloha code-share partner United Airlines is ready to help Aloha passengers during crunch time, as is competitor Hawaiian Airlines. In a prepared release, Hawaiian says it has added “more than 6,000 seats to its daily interisland schedule” as well as “substantially increasing” customer service staffing at airports statewide. “We will provide more than enough seat capacity to fill the void left by Aloha's departure and fill the demands of interisland travel,” asserts Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian President and CEO.

Arch interisland Aloha competitor go! says it too is adding more interisland lift, increasing the number of daily flights it operates from an average of 54 to 94 as of tomorrow (Tuesday, April 1).

Ironically, it is go!, which Aloha blamed in a recent statement for helping drive the carrier to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. At that time Aloha cited alleged “predatory pricing” by go!. Then, officials did not return a phone call to Cheapflights regarding the allegation. Aloha also cited soaring fuel prices as a reason for its Chapter 11 filing.

Calling the decision to cease passenger service “an incredibly dark day for Hawaii” David A. Banmiller, Aloha President and CEO, said the carrier made the move because “we simply ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure financing for our passenger business”.

In an apparent parting shot at go!, Banmiller maintained “unfair competition has succeeded in driving us out of business, bringing to an end a 61-year old company with a proud legacy”.

The immediate concern for flyers heading to the Islands from the U.S. Mainland for that planned vacation in paradise will be how to fill the seat void left by Aloha's departure.

© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler

Comments

[Cathy]

What a pain! A family wedding. I booked through Expedia, and their solution is for me to put the entire charge into dispute on my credit card and then rebook the entire trip, probably at a higher cost. This was a two-stop flight, with ATA being the final junket from Oakland. I expected Expedia to simply substitute the final part of the trip with another airline and inform me of an adjustment price. Or, I expected Expedia to allow me to cancel the entire reservation and reimburse me the full amount. They seem to be helpless in this situation. My travelling companion has it worse. He booked the same trip and used his debit card which is like paying cash! Now he may be out the entire $890 and won't even make it to the wedding.