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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, January 5, 2002

Hawaiian Airlines workers voice concern over merger

By Susan Hooper
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaiian Airlines employees have formed what they call a "grass-roots" group to oppose the merger of the state's two interisland airlines.

The group, called Citizens for Competitive Air Travel, held a three-hour meeting yesterday that drew about 100 to 150 Hawaiian employees, according to Joe Mocarski, a Hawaiian Airlines pilot and a spokesman for the group.

Among those who attended were pilots, flight attendants, cleaners, ramp agents, mechanics, dispatchers and scheduling personnel, said Kirk McBride, another spokesman for the group and also a Hawaiian Airlines pilot.

Employees' concerns about the merger include the impact the deal may have on interisland travel, the loss of jobs, and a possible increase in air fares, McBride said.

Hawaiian and Aloha airlines announced Dec. 19 that they plan to merge into one carrier.

Greg Brenneman, the former Continental executive who will be heading up the merger, has said the combined interisland route schedule likely will be trimmed, and about 600 employees out of the two airlines' combined work force of about 6,000 may lose jobs.

The group expects to circulate petitions asking community members whether they oppose the merger and then give the petitions to Gov. Ben Cayetano, Mocarski said.

Hawaiian employees have grumbled since the merger was announced that their airline will be propping up the less financially stable Aloha Airlines, a rival for 55 years. Aloha reported a third-quarter loss of $1.25 million Sept. 30; Hawaiian reported a $29 million profit for the same period.

They have also expressed concerns about losing jobs after having already been asked for salary and other concessions as Hawaiian righted itself from bankruptcy in the 1990s.

McBride and Mocarski said the group is looking for help from consumer advocacy groups and experts who can help them understand the terms of the merger and propose possible alternatives.

The group is hoping to raise money for its opposition campaign through member contributions, and is not limiting membership to Hawaiian Airline employees. Community members and Aloha Airlines employees are welcome to join, Mocarski said.

Among those the group will be contacting are Hawaiian Airlines' union leadership, who may not be aware of their members' concerns, McBride and Mocarski said.

Local leaders of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents pilots at both Hawaiian and Aloha, came out in support of the merger the day after it was announced. The Hawai'i unit of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has delayed taking a position, pending a review of the deal's terms by the union's international office in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, the American Society of Travel Agents has come out against the planned merger, calling it "anti-competitive and harmful to consumers."

Richard Copland, president and chief executive of the 26,000-member organization, said that, among other potential drawbacks, the merger may harm Hawai'i's tourism industry if interisland ticket prices rise.

"We have found in past tracking of airline mergers that invariably when these mergers take place they're usually between two competitors, and this normally takes away competition, which invariably leads to higher prices and less service," said Copland, the owner of Hillside Travel in Manhattan, the Bronx and Long Island.

"If Aloha and Hawaiian airlines can prove that service is going to get better and prices are going to go down, I might take a whole different look at the merger," he said.

Copland said the society expects to file complaints about the merger with the federal justice and transportation departments.

The deal must undergo state and federal anti-trust and other regulatory scrutiny before it is approved. While it's not clear yet how fares will be affected, Brenneman has acknowledged he likely will be overhauling the current pricing system, which does not allow for discount fares at off-peak hours and higher prices during peak travel times.

Officials also have said the airline is committed to keeping some fares at current levels for two years and to working with the state attorney general's office on pricing.

Danny Casey, president of the American Society of Travel Agents' Hawai'i chapter, said leaders of the local group expect to meet next week to discuss their reaction to the deal. "But generally ... we're opposed to the merger," he said.

"Our concern is that this is a very short-sighted decision that they're making," said Casey, a Honolulu travel agent. "The long-term implications are very serious and could cause a lot of harm to the local travel industry, especially to the local Hawai'i people who travel interisland ... . It will also hurt many of the travel agencies in the state."

Local travel agents worry that prices will rise if the merger takes place, Casey said. But they have other concerns, he said, including fears of reduced service to less popular Neighbor Island destinations.

Travel agents also fear they will lose customers if the interisland market shrinks from two sizable carriers to one, Casey said.

When two airlines are in a market, each generally works with travel agents to create demand among consumers, he said. If there's just one major airline in the market, however, that airline may market itself directly to customers, he said.

Casey said the society's local chapter likely will ask Hawai'i's leaders to oppose the merger.

Reach Susan Hooper at 525-8064 or shooper@honoluluadvertiser.com