Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

[joshuatree]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

An interesting blog on why Southwest won't be entering the Hawaii market any time soon.

I don't think we will see any new entrants for the near future. Hawaii is primarily a leisure market which means thin profit margins. And with the current economy and costs plus all the bad news coming out of Hawaii, any new player will most certainly think twice. If anything, we'll probably see the traditional imcumbents (UA, AA, NW, CO, DL) add a flight here and there where warranted to pick up the slack. We are seeing HA do it.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

Seems to me Hawaiian is the predator now. Aloha is still running farewell commercials and Hawaiian is stripping routes clean off of Aloha's carcass.

Talk about vultures.

What would you recommend they do - sit back for a respectful amount of time, and lose the opportunity to serve potential customers who are wondering what their options might be? Remember - we're talking a business here, not a human corpse, and Hawaiian Air itself was struggling not so long ago.

Your Banmiller/HAL stock comment is certainly an intriguing theory, though, cw. We'll have to see how that all plays out.

[pzarquon]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

Thanks for the links, PZ. Nostalgic for me and, yes, misty eyes, too. KGMB has been airing an aloha message to Aloha showing the last day, tears, hugs and sadness. It gets me every time I see it.

First of all, credit where credit is due... the "Friends of Aloha" ad is by Montaj9. You might want to poke around the site to find an unexpected HT link!

Secondly, I also saw the KGMB ad, and it had the opposite effect for me. It was a bad mix of the usual "we were there!" newsroom chest-thumping and a halfhearted "we love Aloha Airlines" message. It's not uncommon for a news operation to tout its exclusive coverage, so actually, that element didn't bug me too much. Yay, KGMB was on the last flight. Good for them. But to lead into a sentimental message was weird.

I might be old-school, but I don't think a news operation should overtly take a side or express an opinion, even if it's a "safe," warm and fuzzy one. It injects the newsroom into the story, and is a bad precedent for other failing businesses. What of their hardworking competitors? Then again, I'm also a scrooge on KHON's "Lokahi Project," so maybe I just have a dark, black heart.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

What would you recommend they do - sit back for a respectful amount of time, and lose the opportunity to serve potential customers who are wondering what their options might be? Remember - we're talking a business here, not a human corpse, and Hawaiian Air itself was struggling not so long ago.

Your Banmiller/HAL stock comment is certainly an intriguing theory, though, cw. We'll have to see how that all plays out.

I'm always looking at the conspiracy theory angle when things conveniently fall into place. Aloha's in financial crap up to their necks. No company will bail them out, no bank will help those companies bail them out. Hawaiian knows in time Aloha will crumble so it sits and waits. In the meantime they bolster up the overseas capabilities by leasing long range jets while they wait it out.

Hawaiian knows that if they buy out Aloha they would have to contend with unions and other benefits that will have to follow thru such as retirement benefits and pensions so they continue to wait for their prey to bleed to death.

Then Aloha goes flatline and Hawaiian moves in and takes the routes it can use for the jets that are conveniently waiting for overseas duty.

Now IF Banmiller knew this was going to happen, you expedite the failure by pulling the plug early to preserve the $1.7M for a golden parachute opportunity and then buy up HAL stock in anticipation of HAL's stock rising because of their sudden overseas route windfall.

ATA's bancruptcy was icing on the cake. But I don't believe it was unexpected.

You lose a major contract during a contract. I can't see how that affects daily operations unless you breach the current contract and have to pay for extenuating circumstances that resulted in damage to the party(s) involved resulting in losing operational assets needed for daily operations.

I look at Hawaiian and how they're looking really good now because of losses from two other airlines. Hawaiian JUST got their leases on widebody aircraft and was in the PERFECT position to acquire routes abandoned by two airlines that called it quits with very little notification to the public or it's employees.

You can call it bad management on ATA and Aloha, OR you can call it collusion on any of the three parties mentioned. But the sheer coincidence of Hawaiian's aquisition of larger overseas jets AND two airlines with overseas routes calling it quits, reaks of something really sneaky here. The timing was impeccable.

So how is HAL stock doing? According to Pacific Business News HAL stock is slowly rising since the fall of Aloha Airlnes.

Meanwhile the company Aloha blames for their demise has falling shares of stock.

Bottom line is that Aloha's demise isn't helping go! but is making Hawaiian pretty damned good.

Call it good management, good fortune or good luck on Hawaiian, but I see it more as something suspicious here especially when you consider go! Airline isn't getting anything out of this but falling stock.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

good lord can it get any worse for Aloha? Now the pilots are fighting amongst themselves over who flies the cargo planes

Maybe Saltchuk should wait it out like Hawaiian did and pick up the air cargo routes for free when Aloha's air cargo unit dies as well. Its amazing that the Air Cargo unit has only enough funds to keep it alive for this weekend only. So will Banmiller do again by pulling the rug outta Aloha Air Cargo one day before it loses all capital? Is Hawaiian Air Cargo the only one that can pick up the pieces quickly enough to ensure interisland cargo delivery?

Man this is looking better and better for Hawaiian Airlines.

[LikaNui]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

Is Hawaiian Air Cargo the only one that can pick up the pieces quickly enough to ensure interisland cargo delivery?

No, they're not the only one. I'm considering stripping the interior out of my boat and turning it into a fast interisland cargo carrier.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

No, they're not the only one. I'm considering stripping the interior out of my boat and turning it into a fast interisland cargo carrier.

Ummmm...I think the Coast Guard calls that drug running?

[LikaNui]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

Ummmm...I think the Coast Guard calls that drug running?

You mean, like Excedrin and stuff?

[mel]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

I need a pallet of cough drops.

[melorama]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

First of all, credit where credit is due... the "Friends of Aloha" ad is by Montaj9. You might want to poke around the site to find an unexpected HT link!

Thanks for the shout-out, Ryan.

We indeed did the editorial and finishing for the Aloha spots...Jay Evans--our genius senior editor--cut the original "Anthem" and "Community Service" spots, and Debbie Miller cut these last two "final" spots. I did the finish/online work.

I was actually showing a friend of mine the :60 second version of the spot today, and my eyes actually friggen welled up when the last shot of the plane flies off the top of the screen. I couldn't believe that I expressed such outward emotion to a corporate "advertisement", but the fact that everyone in the spots were real, honest to god Aloha employees, culminating in the sadly symbolic "exit" of the plane from the frame...well...it was just too much for me.

These are brilliant spots, and the real credit should go out to Aloha's advertising agency, Milici Valenti Ng Pack, and everyone on their creative team, as well as Ryan Kawamoto, the director of the spots and Shawn Hiatt, the director of photography.

If anyone wants larger, higher quality versions of these spots, you can download them from our site:

http://montaj9.com/WithoutAloha60R2.mov (:60 version)
http://montaj9.com/WithoutAloha30R2.mov (:30 version)

They're Sorenson3 versions, but when I get back from the mainland, I'll be sure to post much higher quality H264 versions and update this post.

[tutusue]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

Thanks for the shout-out, Ryan.

We indeed did the editorial and finishing for the Aloha spots...Jay Evans--our genius senior editor--cut the original "Anthem" and "Community Service" spots, and Debbie Miller cut these last two "final" spots. I did the finish/online work.

I was actually showing a friend of mine the :60 second version of the spot today, and my eyes actually friggen welled up when the last shot of the plane flies off the top of the screen. I couldn't believe that I expressed such outward emotion to a corporate "advertisement", but the fact that everyone in the spots were real, honest to god Aloha employees, culminating in the sadly symbolic "exit" of the plane from the frame...well...it was just too much for me.

These are brilliant spots, and the real credit should go out to Aloha's advertising agency, Milici Valenti Ng Pack, and everyone on their creative team, as well as Ryan Kawamoto, the director of the spots and Shawn Hiatt, the director of photography.

If anyone wants larger, higher quality versions of these spots, you can download them from our site:

http://montaj9.com/WithoutAloha60R2.mov (:60 version)
http://montaj9.com/WithoutAloha30R2.mov (:30 version)

They're Sorenson3 versions, but when I get back from the mainland, I'll be sure to post much higher quality H264 versions and update this post.

Thanks for naming names, Mel. I'm always hesitant to do that first but love to give credit where credit is due.

I've cast many an Aloha spot over the years, always thru Milici. I've loaded up my equipment and cast the employees inside the cargo offices, the hangars, the lunch rooms. I've shot on the planes, on the tarmac, in the terminal. I've been in the trenches with those guys and gals. It was always fun. Many employees auditioned for other ads, too. I've had a decades long relationship with Aloha thru Milici. I get all misty eyed every, single time I see the Montaj9 edits and the KGMB farewell. It's like losing a member of the family.

I doubt anyone on the creative and production teams realized at the time how the footage would ultimately be used...a funeral of sorts. So sad. The Montaj team has had a busy week. No time for lapdances!

Oh...and tell Jay I'm still waiting for my alimony check. And tell him that I brought it up...publicly! He's busted!

First of all, credit where credit is due... the "Friends of Aloha" ad is by Montaj9. You might want to poke around the site to find an unexpected HT link!

Ok, I give! Where is is?!

[Konaguy]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

http://montaj9.com/WithoutAloha60R2.mov (:60 version)
http://montaj9.com/WithoutAloha30R2.mov (:30 version)

What a great ad. I literally got chicken skin watching it. Aloha was a island institution. It is really sad that they had to go out of business.

[kani-lehua]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

"Got AlohaPass miles? Enter our sweepstakes for a chance to convert them into HawaiianMiles. If you’re one of our lucky winners, we’ll convert up to 50,000 AlohaPass miles into HawaiianMiles. We’ll keep drawing winners until we’ve given away 1,000,000 miles!" quoted from their website.


http://www.hawaiianair.com/Specialof.../Giveaway.aspx

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

Saw this on other websites ---


Aloha,

The Hawaii Tourism Authority has secured two additional flights on Hawaiian Airlines, one departing for San Francisco on Monday, April 7 and the other on Wednesday, April 9. The flights are exclusively for ATA and Aloha Airlines ticket holders. Reservations will open for these flights at 12:00 noon, Saturday, April 5. Click here for complete details. Please share this information with your ATA and Aloha guests and customers.

Mahalo for your continued kokua,

John Monahan,
President & CEO

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Aloha Air files bankruptcy, again

When I first read that ad, I thought that contest is for becoming a registered HawaiianMiles member. But, I just entered this contest by inputting my HawaiianMiles account number.