Hawaiian will close pilot bases in California

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawaiian Airlines will close its pilot bases in Los Angeles and San Francisco on Nov. 1 in the hopes of saving $4 million per year.

The move will not disrupt flight schedules, Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said, and does not affect other Hawaiian employees. But it does affect a total of 40 to 45 pilots at the two bases, including 12 of whom will be furloughed.

The remaining pilots will have to work out of Seattle or Honolulu. Although only a dozen pilots will be furloughed, Hawaiian — which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March — will save millions each year by reducing the amount of required retraining of pilots, Wagner said.

Senior pilots who move from base to base trigger extensive bumping of other pilots, often into different aircraft or cockpit positions, Wagner said. By eliminating two pilot bases, Hawaiian vastly reduces the chances for bumping pilots and the retraining that would ensue, he said.

"When pilots move from one seat to another and in a different aircraft, from wide body to narrow body, it requires retraining that is very, very expensive," Wagner said.

Current California-based pilots can continue to live on the West Coast but will have to commute to Honolulu or Seattle by buying their own tickets or flying stand-by as nonrevenue-generating passengers.

There are no restrictions that would prevent pilots from flying into Honolulu as passengers and then turning around and flying back to the Mainland as a pilot, Wagner said, but it's unlikely to happen.

"It doesn't leave a pilot with enough time to report for work and doesn't allow for a late flight here or there and wouldn't really be a prudent way to do it," Wagner said.

Representatives from the Air Line Pilots Association representing Hawaiian Airlines could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8085.