Cancellation causes many to rebook Vegas flights
By Debbie Sokei
Advertiser Staff Writer
Customers of Jackie's Tour, the travel agency that canceled thousands of charter tickets to Las Vegas on Tuesday, began flooding the offices of Jackie's competitors yesterday trying to rebook flights.
"That phone has been ringing off the hook. We had a line forming out the door since this morning," said Russell Gouveia, manager of marketing and operations for Vacations-Hawaii in the Ala Moana Pacific Center Building. "We had people waiting for us to open."
Jackie's said on Tuesday it was halting operations and sending refund checks to customers because its charter airline, World Airways Inc., refused to fly because of a dispute over payments. World Airways, which had been flying MD-11 jets three times a week for Jackie's, said it hasn't been paid since March 17 and was owed $2.3 million as of Monday.
Asked why Jackie's fell behind in payments to World Airways, Jack Kitagawa, CEO of Jackie's, said, "I have no comment."
David Gierlach, an attorney for Jackie's, said, "We have a number of disputes with World Airways that will be resolved in the context of court litigation." Gierlach said the $2.3 million that World Airways says Jackie's owes it is not correct. "It is lower than $2.3 million," he said.
Jackie's Tour is the second charter company run by Kitagawa. The former schoolteacher from Hilo started Jackie's Travel in 1985 on the Big Island. Over the next 10 years the company rapidly expanded, fueled by its low package prices and close relations with the Boyd Gaming Corp. Kitagawa and his wife sold the company to Boyd Gaming in 1997.
Kitagawa re-entered the market in October of last year under the name T M Travel Inc., doing business as Jackie's Tour, and began selling package tours to Las Vegas that included hotel and meals for as low as $299.
Kitagawa said he is not sure if he will continue running the company or close it down and lay off the employees.
"We have a couple more days to plan things out," Kitagawa said. "I might stay retired. I'm not sure. I have awfully good young people that I would like to see ... continue in the business. We may be going into another direction, that is why I'm meeting with my executive committee and deciding on what direction we are going."
Kitagawa said he did not know how many employees he had. Jackie's office in the Varsity Building on University Avenue was staffed with about 15 people yesterday.
The company said it will issue refunds to all customers who had booked flights that are now canceled.
On Tuesday Jason Kine, director of sales and marketing for Jackie's, said "about 10,000" customers had booked flights that wouldn't go. Gierlach, the attorney, revised that number yesterday, saying between 2,000 and 2,500 passengers were booked on canceled flights and will get refunds. Kitagawa said the company won't know the actual number until Sunday when the last flight leaves for Las Vegas.
Jackie's will fly two last charters to Las Vegas on Friday and Sunday. Some of the passengers booked on canceled flights are switching to those two last flights.
Other customers were searching for alternatives and several local travel agencies were happy to help.
"We've gotten a lot of calls and a lot of people walking in to purchase alternate tickets from us to get to Las Vegas," said Danny Ching, president of Non-Stop Travel. "We say, 'Sorry that happened, let's try to rebook you.' "
He said despite the Jackie's cancellations, "there are still seats available to Las Vegas, there are still rooms available. Instead of canceling completely, just rebook. They may get a comparable rate or not."
