Posted on: Saturday, April 23, 2005

Airline's workers hold on to hope

By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer

John Baricuatro tries not to think about all of the deadlines that have come and gone for Hawaiian Airlines to finally emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Hawai'i's largest airline filed for bankruptcy in March 2003 and originally was supposed to be reorganized and out by Labor Day 2004. Then the January 2005 goal came and went, followed by the latest April 1 deadline.

All of the delays and missed deadlines frustrate Hawaiian employees — some of whom find it ironic that they work for America's No. 1 airline in on-time service.

But for veteran employees such as Baricuatro, who has been with Hawaiian for 41 years, they learned through ownership changes and Hawaiian's first bankruptcy in 1993 and 1994 to cling to the faith "that it's just a matter of time," he said.

"We're all proud of our company so we're all anxious," said Baricuatro, chief agent of Hawaiian's ticket office in Ala Moana Center. "But we've been through this before so we know it's going to work out."

Barcuatro's union, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Lodge 141, and four others already ratified new contracts that clear the way for Hawaiian to be taken over by new owners, RC Aviation LLC.

But Hawaiian's pilots voted down their tentative agreement last month, pushing back Hawaiian's timetable even further.

The company and union continue to talk and held negotiations yesterday. Even if the two sides reach a tentative agreement within the next few days, it usually takes more than a week to tally all of the pilots' votes.

At the same time, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Faris has told both sides that he is prepared to rule on the company's motion to have Faris impose a contract on the pilots by the end of April.

Liberty House took three years to reorganize under bankruptcy protection. A much smaller bankruptcy case involving Upland Partners on Maui, by comparison, continues to drag on eight years after it began.

So Hawaiian employees such as accounting clerk Ku'ulei Mercado try not to get anxious thinking about the future.

"The deadlines keep getting pushed back, but you have to remember to live in the reality of the day," said Mercado, who has worked at Hawaiian for 36 years. "At this point in the game, we've been through so much already that you just have to go with it."

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