Aloha Airlines

IATA ICAO Callsign AQ AAH ALOHA
Founded	1946 (as Trans-Pacific Airlines)
Hubs	Honolulu International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	AlohaPass
Fleet size	27
Destinations	11
Parent company	Aloha Airgroup, Inc.
Headquarters	Honolulu, Hawaii
Key people	David A. Banmiller (CEO)
Website	http://www.alohaairlines.com

Aloha Airlines is an American airline headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA which ceased passenger operations on March 31, 2008. It still operates air cargo and contract air services out of its hub at Honolulu International Airport.

On March 30, 2008, 10 days after placing itself under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, Aloha Airlines announced that March 31, 2008, would be the last day of scheduled passenger services both on transpacific and interisland routes^[1]. The airline's last scheduled passenger flight was Flight AQ 261, from Kahului, Maui to Honolulu, Oahu.

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.^[2][3][4]

History

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%.

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.

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.^[5] 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.^[6] Governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle asked the bankruptcy court involved to delay the shutdown of Aloha Airlines passenger services.^[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 is wholly owned by the Aloha Airgroup and had 3,482 employees.^[9] as of March 31, 2008. An estimated 1,900 retained employment after that date to continue the cargo and ground services divisions of the company.

Destinations

Aloha Airlines served the following cities at the time of the March 2008 passenger service shutdown:^[2]

United States

California

• Oakland (Oakland International Airport)
• Sacramento (Sacramento International Airport)
• San Diego (San Diego International Airport)
• Santa Ana (John Wayne Airport) Focus City

Hawaii

• Hilo (Hilo International Airport)
• Honolulu (Honolulu International Airport) Hub
• Kahului (Kahului Airport) Focus City
• Kona (Kona International Airport)
• Lihue (Lihue Airport)

Nevada

• Las Vegas (McCarran International Airport)
• Reno (Reno/Tahoe International 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:^[10]

As of March 2008, the average age of the Aloha Airlines fleet was 18.2 years.^[13]

Codeshare agreements

Aloha Airlines had codeshare agreements with the following airlines:^{[citation needed]}

• Island Air
• United Airlines

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.^[14]

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

External links

• Aloha Airlines
• Spirit of Aloha (inflight magazine)
• Planespotters.net: Aloha Airlines Fleet Detail
• Aloha Airlines to stop flying Monday; CEO calls it 'an incredibly dark day'
• Aloha Air calls it quits after bankruptcy
• Aloha Airlines Ending Passenger Flights KITV-TV