ATA Airlines shuts down

Posted Thursday, 3 April 2008, 06:35 HST @607

From the New York Times, Reuters, Honolulu Advertiser and the Honolulu Star-Bulletin: ATA Airlines has shut down as of 2200 HT yesterday, 2 April 2008.

ATA management decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and close operations after the company lost a key military charter contract. ATA has replaced its web site with an announcement of the shutdown.

ATA operated flights between Honolulu and three West Coast cities, and several routes on the mainland. I flew ATA once in 2002, and the plane was full of tourists on Pleasant Holidays packages.

Plan ahead

The Advertiser noted that ATA’s last flight out of Honolulu left at 0010 HT today, after the shutdown was announced. I doubt ATA gave local hotels and airlines much advance notice. This Star-Bulletin article describes how local executives and state officials started preparing last week as rumors of Aloha’s closure moved through the coconut wireless.

“It was just a matter of waiting to push the button on the press release, which would trigger the Web site announcement, and the hotel association would send out up to 4,000 notices to members,” [Rex Johnson, Hawaii Tourism Authority president] said.

No announcement from Aloha came Saturday.

“Finally, on Sunday at 11, we got the release. [Murray Towill, president of the Hawaii Hotel and Lodging Association] pressed his button, [Mark Dunkerley, president and chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines] put out a release saying there would be 6,000 extra seats and we started to tell people that nobody needed to worry because Hawaii tourism would be operating normally.”

Ian Lind has a few comments at the top of his blog post this morning.

From the Star-Bulletin’s article:

On Monday, Aloha president and Chief Executive David Banmiller prophetically predicted that there would be more fallout in the aviation industry.

“You haven’t seen the end yet,” he said. “We happen to be at the beginning. Other things are going to happen in this business because this environment of fuel cannot be sustained.”

Banmiller had cited an interisland airfare war triggered by Mesa Air Group’s go! and record fuel prices as the primary reasons for Aloha’s shutdown.

“On a federal level, you show me where the federal government, where the White House, where the administration, where the hill has been during this crisis in the aviation industry,” he said.

If anyone is wondering about the trickle down effect from the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ decision to move 2 of its 3 Honolulu-based cruise ships out of the state, the Star-Bulletin also reported this morning that the Kona Hard Rock Cafe will close on 21 July 2008. The restaurant lost its lease, but I expect more announcements like this, especially around Waikiki and Hilo.

3 April 2008: Protesters and text messages
2 April 2008: Aloha cargo sale and neighbor island mail service in jeopardy
30 March 2008: Aloha Airlines shuts down