Aloha Airlines
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| Founded | July 26, 1946 (as Trans-Pacific Airlines) | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | March 31, 2008 (passenger) April 28, 2008 (cargo) | ||||||
| Hubs | Honolulu International Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 6 (cargo) | ||||||
| Parent company | Aloha Airgroup, Inc. | ||||||
| Headquarters | Honolulu, Hawaii | ||||||
| Key people | David A. Banmiller (CEO) | ||||||
| Website | http://www.alohaairlines.com | ||||||
Aloha Airlines was an American cargo and passenger airline headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, operating from a hub at Honolulu International Airport. It formerly operated passenger service until March 31, 2008 and cargo service until April 28, 2008, since converting it's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection to Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Asset Liquidation[1].
History
Propeller era
The airline was founded as charter carrier Trans-Pacific Airlines by publisher Ruddy Tongg as a competitor to Hawaiian Airlines, commencing operations on Aloha Friday, July 26, 1946 with a single World War II-surplus Douglas C-47 (DC-3) on a flight from Honolulu to Maui and Hilo. The name reflected Tongg's vision of a trans-oceanic airline connecting California, Hawaii, and China. It soon earned the nickname "The Aloha Airline," and was flying four aircraft by the end of the year. Approval to operate as a scheduled airline came when President Harry S. Truman signed the certificate on February 21, 1949, with the first scheduled flight on June 6, 1949, following ceremonies held the previous day.
In 1952, the airline reported its first annual profit: $36,410.12. The airline's market share rose to 30% that year, up from 10% in 1950, the year the airline adopted the name TPA-The Aloha Airline. However, the introduction of the Convair 340 at Hawaiian Airlines halted further growth TPA's market share for over five years. In 1958, real estate developer Hung Wo Ching, whose family held a sizable stake in the airline and following overtures by Tongg, was elected president of the airline. In November of that year, the company changed its name again, becoming Aloha Airlines. On April 15, 1959, Aloha took delivery of its first Fairchild F-27 turboprop aircraft. These aircraft were unique to Aloha, built with a stronger keel beam and thicker belly skin to satisfy concerns about ditching the high-wing aircraft. That summer, Aloha's market share jumped to 42%.
Jet engine era
Aloha retired its last DC-3 on January 3, 1961, becoming the second airline in the United States to operate an all-turbine fleet. In 1963, the airline took delivery of two Vickers Viscounts from Austrian Airlines and soon acquired a third. Soon, the airline made the move to pure jets, with its first BAC One-Eleven arriving in Honolulu on April 16, 1966. The last F-27 was retired from service in June 1967. As Hawaiian took delivery of larger Douglas DC-9-30s, Aloha realized its smaller One-Elevens, which also took performance penalties in Kona, put it at a disadvantage. The airline went shopping and placed an order for two Boeing 737-200s in December. Named "Funbirds", the Boeing jets entered service on March 2, 1969. The massive capacity increase hurt both airlines, and in 1970, the first of three unsuccessful merger attempts between the two rivals (the others coming in 1988 and 2001) was made. In October 1971, the airline sold its remaining Viscounts and became an all-jet airline.
In 1983, Aloha introduced its AlohaPass frequent flyer program. In 1984, the airline leased a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, and on May 28th, inaugurated service with the aircraft between Honolulu, Guam, and Taipei under the name Aloha Pacific. The operation, however, was unable to compete with the pressure placed on it by Continental, and was discontinued on January 12, 1985. In October of that year, Aloha acquired Quick-Change 737 aircraft that could be quickly converted from passenger configuration to an all-cargo freighter configuration for nighttime cargo flights. In February 1986, Aloha began weekly flights between Honolulu and Kiritimati (Christmas Island), becoming the first airline to operate ETOPS 737s.
In late 1986, Ching and vice-chairman Sheridan Ing announced plans to take the company private, and it remained in the hands of the Ing and Ching families until its emergence from bankruptcy in 2006, when additional investors including The Yucaipa Cos., Aloha Aviation Investment Group, and Aloha Hawaii Investors LLC took stakes in the airline. In 1987, the airline acquired Princeville Airways, renaming Aloha IslandAir, which became known as Island Air in 1995. In 2003, Island Air was sold to Gavarnie Holding and became an independent airline.
On February 14, 2000, the airline began mainland service, flying newly delivered Boeing 737-700s from Honolulu and Kahului to Oakland, California.
Economic challenges and passenger shutdown
Rising costs and an economic recession in Japan put Aloha into a defensive position in the early 2000s, soon exacerbated by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the SARS panic of 2003, and soaring fuel prices. On December 30, 2004, Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an attempt to cut costs and remain competitive with other airlines serving Hawaii. Following approval of new labor contracts and securing additional investment by new investors, the airline emerged from bankruptcy protection on February 17, 2006. On August 30, 2006, Gordon Bethune was named Chairman of the Board.
Citing losses from a protracted fare war incited by inter-island competitor go! and high fuel prices, Aloha filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection again on March 20, 2008.[2] Ten days later, on March 30, 2008, Aloha Airlines announced the suspension of all scheduled passenger flights, with the final day of operation being March 31, 2008.[3] Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle asked the bankruptcy court involved to delay the shutdown of Aloha Airlines passenger services, and forcibly restore passenger service.[4]
Aloha Airline's longest inter-island route was 216 miles, while the shortest route was a mere 62 miles. Average length of travel per inter-island flight was 133 miles.[citation needed] Aloha also marketed some inter-island routes served by partner Island Air, and passengers earned miles in either its own frequent flyer program, AlohaPass, or in United Airlines' Mileage Plus program.[5][6][7]
Seattle based Saltchuk Resources has offered to buy the cargo division, but no interested party has yet come forward for the contract services division as of the time of the shut down[8]. Saltchuk Resources is already present in Hawaii through its subsidiaries Young Brothers/Hawaiian Tug & Barge, Hawaii Fuel Network, Maui Petroleum and Minit Stop Stores. The company also owns Northern Air Cargo, Alaska's largest cargo airline.
The airline was privately held and wholly owned by Aloha AirGroup. The airline had 3,482 employees.[9] It's contract services division is in the process of being sold to Pacific Air Cargo[10].
Destinations
Aloha Airlines served the following cities at the time of the airline's shutdown of passenger service on March 31, 2008 and cargo service on April 28, 2008.
- Oakland (Oakland International Airport)
- Sacramento (Sacramento International Airport)
- San Diego (San Diego International Airport)
- Santa Ana (John Wayne Airport) Focus City
- Hilo (Hilo International Airport)
- Honolulu (Honolulu International Airport) Hub
- Kahului (Kahului Airport) Focus City
- Kona (Kona International Airport)
- Lihue (Lihue Airport)
* Note: Aloha Airlines also codeshared on Island Air flights to Hoolehua, Kapalua, and Lanai City using de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft.
Fleet
As of April 2008, the Aloha Airlines fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[11]
| Aircraft | Total | Passengers (First/Economy) |
Routes | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing 737-200C | 6 | Cargo | Hawaii Inter-Island Cargo | |
| Former Passenger Fleet[12] | ||||
| Boeing 737-200 | 13 | 127 (-/127) | Hawaii Inter-Island | |
| Boeing 737-700 | 8 | 124 (12/112) | US Mainland | |
| Boeing 737-800 | 1 | 162 (12/150) | US Mainland (primarily Kahului-Sacramento) |
Leased from TransAvia from November 2007 - April 2008 [13] |
As of March 2008, the average age of the Aloha Airlines fleet was 18.2 years.[14]
Codeshare agreements
Aloha Airlines had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:[citation needed]
Incidents and accidents
- On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243 Boeing 737 (N73711) inter-island flight from Hilo Airport to Honolulu International Airport carrying 89 passengers and six crew experienced rapid decompression when an 18-foot section of the fuselage roof and sides was torn from the airplane. One flight attendant (Clarabelle Lansing) was ejected from the aircraft during the decompression and was presumably killed. Her body was never recovered. Several passengers sustained life-threatening injuries including instances of massive head wounds. The pilots declared an emergency and landed at Kahului Airport on Maui with slight difficulty. Noise created by the rush of air rendered vocal communication useless and the crew had to use hand signals during landing. Investigations of the disaster concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue. The disaster caused almost all major United States air carriers to retire their oldest airplane models.[15]
The event was dramatised in a 1990 television movie titled Miracle Landing starring Connie Sellecca, Wayne Rogers and Nancy Kwan. The incident was also the focus of an episode of the series Mayday (Air Crash Investigation and Air Emergency), shown on the Discovery Channel.
References
- ^ Room, News (2008-03-30). "Aloha Air's Cargo Division Shuts Down - KITV.com". Aloha Airlines. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
{{cite news}}:|first=has generic name (help); Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Blair, Chad (2008-03-20). "Aloha Airlines files for second bankruptcy in 3 years, blames go! for losses". Pacific Business News. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ McAvoy, Audrey. "Aloha Airlines halting passenger service". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
{{cite news}}: Text "date-2008-03-30" ignored (help) - ^ "Lingle asks court to delay Aloha passenger service shutdown". The Honolulu Advertiser. 2008-03-30. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Where we Fly". Aloha Airlines. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ "AlohaPass". Retrieved 2007-04-09.
- ^ "Seattle-based company offers to buy Aloha Airlines' cargo business". International Herald Tribune. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Daysog, Rick (2007-06-03). "Fare war 'can easily go' second year". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2007-06-03.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Ward, Beti (2008-04-28). "PAC IS HIGHEST BIDDER FOR ALOHA'S CONTRACT SERVICES UNIT". Pacific Air Cargo. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Gomes, Andrew (2008-04-01). "Aloha's cargo unit still in business". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2008-04-01.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Segal, Dave (2008-03-21). "Aloha air bankrupt". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-03-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ PH-HZO as the new Aloha aircraft for the winter period
- ^ Aloha Airlines Fleet Age
- ^ Aloha Airlines Crash
- Young, Branden (July/August 2006). "Aloha Airlines: Ready to Protect Their Beachfront in Paradise". Airliners: The World's Aviation Magazine. Airliners Publications. pp. 35–39.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Forman, Peter (2005). Wings of Paradise: Hawaii's Incomparable Airlines. Kailua, HI: Barnstormer Books. ISBN 978-0-9701594-4-1.