Posted on: Saturday, October 2, 2004

Omni Air will shut down Honolulu base on Jan. 15

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Omni Air International, which offers charter flights between Honolulu and Las Vegas six days a week, will close its Honolulu base on Jan. 15.

The closure will not affect its local charter flight service with Vacations-Hawai'i.

The 22 flight attendants based in Honolulu have been offered transfers to another Omni base or unpaid leaves of absence until April 2005, when the charter airline may reopen its Honolulu base, said Chuck Pollard, managing director for Tulsa, Okla.-based Omni Air International.

Crew members who opt to take a leave will retain their seniority with the company should they return to work in April.

The company decided to close the Honolulu base because of a change in aircraft scheduling, Pollard said.

"It's essentially a realignment of crew resources," he said.

In 2002 Omni became the charter airline for tour operator Vacations-Hawai'i, which flies about 2,000 passengers a week to Vegas.

Omni, which also provides charter service for the U.S. government and sports teams, will suspend charter service with Worry-Free Vacations, owned by MLT Vacations Inc., to Vegas effective Dec. 1. Service may re-start in April 2005, prompting the possible reopening of a Honolulu base.

"Our commitment to serving the Hawai'i market remains," Pollard said. "The fact that we're realigning our crew resources doesn't mean we're not continuing to focus and serve our Hawai'i market. We value the patronage we've built."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.