LEADERSHIP CORNER
Continental executive predicts busy summer for travel
Interviewed by David Butts
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Age: 54
Title: Continental Airlines' managing director, Hawai'i, and member of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority board
High School: Kermit High School, Kermit, Texas
College: Attended Texas Tech and University of Hawai'i
Breakthrough job: Sent by Continental 35 years ago to Hawai'i to be supervisor of passenger service.
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Q. You just added a daily nonstop flight from Houston to Maui. Why are you adding capacity now?
A. Hawai'i over the past couple of years has been very successful for us. The next logical step is to try to increase the service. If you look at what our customers are telling us, Maui came up as the top destination.
Q. How many total flights do you have coming into Hawai'i?
A. Six to seven per day, with about 235 seats per flight.
Q. Many in the tourism industry complain that the airlines are limiting arrivals here by not increasing flights. What is your response?
A. It's very obvious that demand fuels flights. That's pure and simple. The airlines don't create demand. We react to demand. That's why it's so important from the state's point of view to make sure this fragile tourism industry is always promoted properly to make sure demand is up there.
Q. So when Japan Airlines cuts 50 percent of its flights as it did in April and May, they are not adding to the drop in arrivals here?
A. No. I think it is temporary. I think they are reacting to the conditions they are facing, and you surely don't want to fly empty airplanes because that is just untenable. If they had demand, they would definitely fly those airplanes. I think we will see it rebound by the end of the year.
Q. How are your summer bookings looking?
A. I would say 2000 was probably the best year we had. I would say we are going to be full (this summer). The end result is going to be the same as 2000. We are going to have a very busy season with full flights. This summer may be as good as our best year.
Q. Does a Southwest Airlines or Jet Blue model, the no-frills airline, fit with Hawai'i?
A. During times of economic distress in the world and the U.S., I think no-frills airlines prosper. It's kind of cyclical. Once the economy gets back up there and people have a little disposable income, they are more than willing to pay for service. Do they work for Hawai'i? They are not here. There would be lots of them if the model worked.
Q. Continental has said it's cutting 1,200 jobs this year. Are you cutting jobs in Hawai'i?
A. No, we are actually pretty stable here in Hawai'i. We're not cutting.
Q. How many employees do you have in Hawai'i?
A. Continental employs 450 people in Hawai'i, directly or contractually.
Q. How has the Iraq war and SARS affected your business?
A. Hawai'i has maintained itself as being a good place to come, a place where people come and heal, feel safe. It's American. It's English, but yet it's got the diversity of having some foreign language, Japanese/Asian influence, which more and more people like.
Asia obviously has a problem because of the economy, that has (caused) a temporary decline.
Q. Is the Hawai'i Tourism Authority doing enough to encourage demand from Japan?
A. There is only a certain amount you can do in certain times. For example, you could probably spend twice as much in Japan, but because of the conditions we just talked about, it's not going to generate any extra business.
I think we are doing the right thing with the right amount of money and the right emphasis at the present time. As conditions improve in Japan, we can go and promote and take advantage of when people start to travel again. If they are not ready to go, you are just going to spend a lot of money and not be effective.
Q. Are you expecting to resume flights from Japan to Hawai'i at any time?
A. We are looking for a time and place for that to return. Once that demand gets up to the right level and the yen is at the right level, you might see us re-entering the marketplace. It's always on an annual planning basis. We look at opportunities, and it's always in the top two or three.
Q. How is Guam doing now?
A, It's one of those cyclical things. If you've been in the business long enough, you know that you will get a year or two bad and then five or six years of good rebound.
Q. The main barrier to tapping the Chinese tourist market for Hawai'i has been the difficulty Chinese have with getting visas to travel. How is that issue going to be resolved?
A. (They need to) come up with a formula that would assure that the visitors adhere to the laws and travel on the trip and go home. In it's purest form, that's what we've got to do.
Q. What are your ideas on building the wellness market for tourism?
A. My idea was to create an industry. We've got the makings of an industry. We've got wonderful spas and treatment. What we would like to do is create an industry where we actually go into modern medicine, the clinical, maybe driven by some of the university's new med school. We are in the process of getting these folks together and trying to create a health and wellness tourism industry. I've been told it's a $25 billion market.
Q. You're 54. How long do you intend to continue doing this?
A. I would like to think my next six years are going to be my most important years. Once you see the big picture, it gives you great insight.
Q. Is the wellness push a culmination of your career?
A. Yes, that's a part of it. I'd also like to be involved in helping with this China development. I have an affinity with China. My wife is Chinese. I just love the Orient. If the state wants me to help them in that endeavor, I'd like to help them do that. I like to build things.
