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FeedWhat Really Killed Aloha?
The long answer may be simple: Us
By David K. Choo
(page 1 of 4)
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Aloha unveils its DC-3 airliner. |
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“I would have killed to charge half of what I paid for that Reno trip,” says Cutwright, whose 20-year career at Aloha included stints as executive vice president and chief operating officer as well as acting president and CEO. “That flight was comparable to one of our interisland routes, but here in Hawaii anything over $60 is considered too high.”
Cutwright points out that if Hawaii’s airline market was structured like the Mainland, customers would not only be charged more for their airfare, but those flying from Kauai to Honolulu would pay slightly more than those traveling from Maui and slightly less than those flying out of Hilo or Kona. In just about every other market in the country, the further you fly, the more you pay. But not in Hawaii.
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Frank Sinatra gets a little Aloha spirit. |
In addition, until the arrival of the Hawaii Superferry last year, Islanders didn’t have another option for interisland travel. They had to fly and, with that in mind, airline executives on both sides of the terminal had built mechanisms into their business plans to equalize fares for travel within the Islands, so as not to penalize residents who lived on the state’s outer edges. In the days before direct flights to the Neighbor Islands from the continent, when all interisland travel emanated from Honolulu, the lower fares were subsidized by island-hopping Mainland and overseas tourists. Later, trans-Pacific routes helped offset the increasingly costly interisland operations. Moreover, the periodic entrance of a third airline into the market, and the resulting fare wars, temporarily provided Island consumers with extremely low — if unrealistic — fares.
According to Cutwright, the last interisland airfare that truly reflected the cost of doing business was the $99 both Aloha and Hawaiian charged for a one-way trip in the aftermath of 9/11. It’s a fare interisland travelers will inevitably see again soon.
“We’ve always known that despite great frequent-flyer programs and loyalty programs, the traveler, when it comes to discretionary funds, is a fair-weather friend,” says Cutwright. “That is why, when fares go down to $29, way below your cost, you match it, because people will move for as little as a dollar. They always have and always will.”
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Reader Comments:
A right to the heart article. Now maybe Go should go! I for one would not support them, regardless how low they bring the fares. It is unfortunate there no longer are two regular local airlines. Also, we in Hilo need to fly west before we can fly east to the mainland, using several hundred more miles of fuel consumption. Perhaps rerouting flight schedules might help.
On a trip to the islands in 1994 I used both Aloha and Hawaiian for my inter-island flights. The cabin crews on both Hawaiian flights exhibited true Aloha Spirit and were friendly and courteous. However the cabin crews on both Aloha flights were basically arrogant and condescending. They acted like they could care less about their passengers. They laughed and joked among themselves during boarding and bassically offered no assistance with seating. In-flight service seemed to be offered simply because it had to be. If this poor service had been on one flight I would have shrugged it off, but it was the same on both flights, which indicated this was company-wide. Since then I have booked all my inter-island flights on Hawaiian and have not been disappointed with the high quality of service both on the ground and in the air.