Mar 20 2008
Aloha Airlines Bankrupt; Will They Continue to Fly?
Honolulu news station KITV revealed late today that Aloha Airlines has filed bankruptcy for the second time in three years. While Aloha indicated that the reason for filing is due to unfair competition by Go! Airlines and sky-high oil prices, there are I believe other factors that were not mentioned.
- Aloha lacks a modern inter-island fleet and has been flying old, fuel-inefficient and more maintenance intensive 737-200.
- The question of whether primary investor, billionaire Ron Burkle, has finally tired of pouring money into Aloha.
- Aloha’s lack of of appropriate long-range aircraft and lucrative Transpacific mainland and international routes (that have helped competitor Hawaiian Airlines weather difficult times).
- Aloha’s poor customer service track record and lack of overall sales appeal necessary to attract customers.
Can Aloha reorganize once again and come out flying? Due to the overwhelming number of negative factors, I personally don’t think so.
There are indeed serious difficulties facing Hawaii inter-island travel. Stay tuned for more.
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