United to close three Hawai'i ticket sites

By David Butts
Advertiser Staff Writer

United Airlines, which once had as many as seven ticket offices in Hawai'i, will close all but one by mid-July as part of a nationwide move among airlines to sell tickets through more efficient means.

Airline ticket offices in department stores, hotel lobbies and other locations are rapidly disappearing as more travelers use the Internet to book flights and the airlines work to reduce costs.

"It is an opportunity for us to reduce our expenses," said Joe Hopkins, a United spokesman in Chicago,

Hopkins also said the airline has been closing ticket offices around the country.

United's parent UAL Corp. had a record $2.1 billion loss last year as it cut jobs and flights after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. American Airlines closed most of its ticket offices, including two in the Islands, after Sept. 11.

United has four ticket offices left in Hawai'i — at Ala Moana Center, Bishop Square, Pearlridge Macy's and one on Maui. One of those four will remain open after July, but the company has not decided which one, Hopkins said.

Some of the 25 employees at the centers may be laid off, but that hasn't been decided yet either, Hopkins said.

"In some locations, people have been relocated, but not in all cases," Hopkins said.