Posted on: Saturday, September 8, 2001

Pacific Wings to cut flights

By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer

Interisland airline Pacific Wings said that beginning today it will cut about 10 percent of its scheduled flights because its facilities are inadequate and its mechanics are exhausted.

The Maui-based airline will cut most or all of its 18 weekly flights between Kahului, Maui, and Lana'i City; most or all of its 12 weekly flights between Honolulu and Kapalua, Maui; and one of its seven weekly flights between Honolulu and Waimea on the Big Island.

The airline said it may further trim its schedule, which still includes more than 340 weekly flights of small propeller planes between the major Hawaiian islands.

Pacific Wings officials yesterday said their problems stemmed from a lack of proper facilities. The airline decided to cut back the service after two of its specialist mechanics quit last month, saying they were sick of working in subpar conditions, said Greg Kahlstorf, Pacific Wings president.

For four years, Pacific Wings has operated from two temporary hangars at the Kahului airport, and its administrative headquarters is in a nearby trailer. The airline tries to compete with Mainland and interisland rivals by offering low-cost tickets. It also flies several Essential Airline Service routes subsidized by the federal government.

Kahlstorf said Pacific Wings has always been able to pay its bills. The problems arose when the airline outgrew its facilities.

Negotiations with the state Department of Transportation for a third hangar have bogged down, and Kahlstorf said his mechanics have practically revolted at being forced to log heavy overtime and work in the open.

Angered at the work conditions, the mechanics have curtailed their maintenance schedule, forcing the flight cuts, Kahlstorf said.

Pacific Wings could instantly restore the cut flights if it can get a third hangar to shelter the mechanics, Kahlstorf said.

"These guys have had to lay on the tarmac with flashlights between their teeth, making their repairs under the elements," said Kahlstorf, a former AMR Corp. employee and co-owner of the airline. "It's hard to get people to work under those conditions. The only alternative is to get more space."

The Department of Transportation will not let Pacific Wings occupy another Maui hangar because the airline is 11th on the waiting list for a new hangar, said Marilyn Kali, department spokeswoman.

Several plane owners have been on the list for years, and "would have a real problem" if the the Department of Transportation interfered to favor Pacific Wings, Kali said.

However, Kali suggested that the Department of Transportation could reserve a hangar at Maui for use by Essential Airline Service carriers — effectively giving it to Pacific Wings.

But the department won't do that until it gets approval from the state attorney general's office. Transportation officials asked the office for a legal opinion about two weeks ago, and do not expect a reply soon, Kali said.

Kali said the department sympathizes with Pacific Wings' problems but must remain neutral.

"Obviously, we want all the businesses operating in our airports to be economically viable, but we don't have a say in how they operate their businesses," she said. "It's up to the business to decide what is economically feasible for them to do."

Pacific Wings has 77 employees and nine ticket offices around the state. The airline came to Maui after 20 years running Grand Canyon flights out of Nevada.