Hawaiian pilots fight hiring of consultant

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

In a sign of the increasingly rancorous relationship between airline pilots and the bankruptcy trustee of Hawaiian Airlines, the pilots union is seeking to keep the trustee from hiring a consultant.

Hawaiian Airlines bankruptcy trustee Joshua Gotbaum applied to the court earlier this month to employ HNTB Corp. as an airline terminal design consultant for up to $251,640.

The Air Line Pilots Association, whose members' pension fund has not been fully funded because of Hawaiian's financial condition, is opposing the move in bankruptcy court. A hearing has yet to be scheduled on the pilots' request.

Gotbaum was named trustee in July to manage the airline through its Chapter 11 reorganization.

Because Hawaiian duplicates some operations at Honolulu International Airport at its separate terminal locations for interisland and Mainland flights, Gotbaum wants HNTB to help plan for a consolidation to maximize efficiency.

"It is an important initiative for the future of Hawaiian Airlines and the trustee is supposed to be pursuing initiatives that are important to the future of the airline," said Bruce Bennett, an attorney representing Gotbaum.

But Jim Giddings, chairman of the Hawaiian Airlines unit of the pilots association, said Gotbaum should focus on getting the airline out of Chapter 11 and called the consolidation plans an "expensive distraction."

"We think it's a real issue that needs to be solved by whoever the new managers or owners of the company are going to be," Giddings said.

Giddings estimated Hawaiian is spending roughly $1 million a month on consultants and attorneys. "All these consultants and attorneys are getting paid with money that we're helping to earn. It's very frustrating to us," he said.

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470 or kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.