Hawai'i Air Travel Market Hit With Two Airline Closings Within Three Days

By Aaron Poehler

Published on April 03, 2008

Honolulu-based Aloha Airlines, which had operated interisland and transpacific routes for over 60 years, cited rising fuel prices, unfair competition from rival carrier go! and a three-way price war between go!, Aloha, and Hawaiian Airlines which drove interisland ticket prices as low as $20 as the primary factors making continued operation of the airline unfeasible. A lawsuit filed by Aloha against go! parent company Mesa Air Group alleging the company engaged in predatory pricing and used confidential information to gain a competitive advantage is scheduled to be heard in October in federal District Court.

Indianapolis-based ATA Airlines, which began as a Midwestern charter carrier, had in recent years increasingly focused on operating flights between mainland cities Los Angeles, Oakland, Phoenix and Las Vegas and Honolulu, Maui, and Hilo in Hawai'i. In a statement released Wednesday, company spokesmen said the loss of a contract for the company to provide charter flights to transport military personnel and families to oversea destinations made discontinuing service unavoidable.

At the time of shutdown, Aloha employed over 1,900 people, while ATA had 2,230 employees. Passengers holding tickets on both airlines were advised to contact their credit card companies or travel agents for information on possible refunds.

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