Local airlines and USPS plan for Aloha Airline shutdown
Local airlines and the U.S. Postal Service are making contingency plans in case Aloha Airlines shuts down next week.
Aloha Airlines’ cash plan runs for just 5 more days. They’ll let the bankruptcy court know Monday whether they’ve found a buyer or a loan to continue business.
Others are getting ready in case Aloha can’t go on.
Two additional Go! airplanes have shown up at Honolulu International Airport.
Hawaiian Airlines employees have been told it could be all hands on deck next week.
It’s all part of the back-up plan in case Aloha Airlines stops flying.
“There’s nobody that can fill the gap right away. I’ll tell you that right now,” said Randall Cummings, an Aloha Airlines pilot. “There’s nobody who can fill the gap right away if aloha goes out of business. It will be a crisis.”
A crisis starting with passengers. Hawaiian is already planning to add more flights to move more people if necessary.
“The expanded flight schedules are simply part of a larger contingency plan as a result of Aloha Airlines’ recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy,” said Mark Dunkerley, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines.
Hawaiian could also make use of 1 spare 717. Their larger 767s are currently assigned to transpacific routes.
The 2 additional Go! planes on the ground now carry 50 people each, but Jonathan Ornstein, CEO of Go!’s parent company, said, “We are monitoring situation closely and we will respond to the market demand.”
As for Aloha’s 3,500 employees, the unions are coaching members about how to cope with possible job loss — including help with bill payment, unemployment filing, and even getting enough food for the family.
“We’re all trying to be positive,” said Ed Paulo of the machinists union. “We went through this once and hopefully we can pull this out again.”
Besides passengers and employees, other sectors of the economy are working on contingency plans, too.
Aloha is the state’s largest air cargo carrier — including items for FedEx and UPS. It’s one of only 2 carriers handling interisland deliveries for the U.S. mail.
The postal service has seen similar disruptions elsewhere, and its Hawaii spokesperson Duke Gonzales said: “We have been able to overcome those challenges in the past and are confident that we’ll be able to continue to serve our customers.”
The postal service is exploring short-term emergency contracts.
“Aloha is a vital part of Hawaii’s infrastructure,” Cummings said, “our transportation, shipping, medical supplies, very important vital things that have to happen for a state to exist — and that’s all in jeopardy”
Lawmakers could pass a jet fuel excise tax waiver in committee tomorrow morning. That could save Aloha Airlines about $7 million a year, and the waiver would also be available to other interisland operations.
Aloha Airlines employees and their supporters are holding a rally Friday at the Capitol to call for more state intervention. They’re expecting up to 1,000 people.
