By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer
Aloha Airlines is closer to making Orange County — the home of Disneyland — the third Mainland destination in its rapidly expanding long-distance network.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a plan Feb. 6 that would allow Aloha two daily flights from John Wayne Airport, one to Maui and one to Honolulu, said airport spokeswoman Ann McCarley. "We’re not sure when that will start at this point," she said.
Aloha representatives would not comment yesterday about Orange County service.
"It’s no secret that the company is looking at John Wayne airport, but I’m not going to comment further until the company puts out an official announcement," Aloha spokeswoman Julie King said yesterday.
Orange County would be yet another piece in Aloha’s aggressive strategy to combat a sagging interisland market with service to Mainland destinations popular with Island residents. Following a business model made popular by Southwest Airlines, Aloha has targeted underserved airports in major population centers and offers flights at comparatively low prices.
In just one year, Aloha has morphed from an interisland airline into one with a solid, though tailored Mainland operation. It launched the plan last February with daily service to Oakland from Honolulu and Maui. The flights have been 75 to 85 percent full, company executives have said, and last week the flights began continuing on to Las Vegas.
Four-day-a-week service between Oakland and Kona’s Keahole International Airport is slated to start April 5. Aloha will be the only airline flying the route.
John Wayne airport is in the central coastal area of Orange County, on the border of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Residents destined for Hawai‘i currently must either take a short flight to Los Angeles International Airport or, more likely, drive through congested freeways to LAX in a trip that can take an hour or more.
McCarley said the Orange County supervisors also must approve lease agreements between the airport and Aloha. The leases are being prepared, she said, but she said she did not know when they would come before the board.
Aloha was approved to operate a Boeing 737-700 on the flights, McCarley said, the plane it uses on its other Mainland routes.
Interisland business has suffered as nonstop flights from the Mainland make inroads on the Neighbor Islands and a thriftier brand of Japanese visitors cuts day-tripping from its itineraries. Last year, the number of Hawai‘i visitors who stayed on just one island increased about 6 percent, according to visitor statistics collected by the state.
To deal with the weakness, Aloha last month cut the number of interisland flights from 180 to 165, or about 8 percent, and laid off roughly a dozen workers. By contrast, the company hired 56 pilots and 80 flight attendants for its new Las Vegas service.
The Mainland flights recently have hit rough times with Aloha’s pilots. The pilots and supporters have picketed the carrier’s sales offices to demand higher pay. Their union, the Air Line Pilots Association, says pilots settled for low pay when Aloha started flights to Oakland, but the routes are now profitable.
Pilot representatives could not be reached for comment last night.
Michele Kayal can be reached by phone at 525-8024, or by email at mkayal@honoluluadvertiser.com.
[back to top] |
