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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.

Related posts

• 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

The Honolulu Star-Bullletin just posted this article:

Aloha Airlines will be shutting down its interisland and transpacific passenger flights beginning tomorrow, ending its 61-year service in Hawaii.

In a news release today, the company said United Airlines and other airlines will help accommodate passengers who have flights scheduled on Aloha after tomorrow. Aloha has stopped selling tickets for future flights.

I wonder if this will spur the state legislature into action? Last Thursday, Minnesota congressman James Oberstar implored Hawaii’s lawmakers to save Aloha Airlines, according to this Star-Bulletin article:

“The islands are so dependent on air travel. This is your taxi. This is your bus line. You essentially have to maintain this carrier for its competitive service and for the economic impact it means for Honolulu and the whole state.”

News coverage

These are articles that appeared later in the day, after I posted my article.

• The Honolulu Advertiser posted a shorter article here and a Q&A section later in the day. Ticket holders for flights on and after April 1 can sue in bankruptcy court for their refund, or check with their travel agent. One interesting note: all Aloha Airlines frequent flyer miles expire tomorrow, 31 March 2008, when the airline shuts down its AlohaPass program.
• Business Week
• Bloomberg
• Here’s KGMB’s article from its web site.
• CNN from the Associated Press
• The Huffington Post
• Los Angeles Times
• Washington Post from the Associated Press

The day after

Even Wired Magazine has mentioned the shutdown.

Both Honolulu newspapers had extensive coverage.

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin
• The Honolulu Advertiser redesigned its web site last week, and I cannot find the old archive feature. Here’s a link to today’s lead story.

When the FAA allowed airline pilots to carry guns, supporters claimed that armed pilots could be trusted. After all, pilots are responsible for flying multimillion dollar jets filled with people, right?

As Peter Biddle (via BoingBoing) points out, this logic is flawed because trust is not transitive. An airline pilot can have thousands of hours logged in the cockpit. Pilots receive only one week of training with their .40 caliber semiautomatic H&K USP sidearms. The two skills do not reinforce or relate to each other in any way. In fact, pilots may need several hundred hours experience with a weapon to develop safety skills that are as reliable as their flying skills.

So when a USAirways pilot blows a hole through his cockpit while trying to stow his handgun before landing his plane, as this AP story describes, no one should be surprised:

The pistol discharged shortly before noon Saturday aboard Flight 1536 from Denver to Charlotte, as the Airbus A319 was at about 8,000 feet and about 10 minutes from landing.

Here are some examples I just made up on my own. feel free to add your own as a comment!

• No sensible person would trust an astronaut to perform heart surgery, unless that astronaut were also an experience heart surgeon.
• Stunt performers may be brave, but that doesn’t make them great parents.
• Professors may be masters in their field, but that doesn’t mean they can use a computer. I still hear about professors who cannot answer their own e-mail!

According to Reuters, paper airline tickets will be phased out by June 1, 2008. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has placed its last order for blank paper tickets. Almost every airline uses IATA tickets when an international traveller requests paper tickets. I still have a few paper ticket stubs that I’ve saved. They’re in a box, with some old postage stamps and punch cards.

The airlines have been preparing for a full conversion to e-tickets, so this news was not a big surprise. Even so, there will always be some travelers who will be shocked when their airline or travel agent doesn’t given them a paper ticket.

Last Saturday we took a tour of the Superferry, and I took a few pictures for this blog. The Alakai arrived in Honolulu in early July and remains docked at Pier 19 while the Coast Guard does its final inspections of the vessel. About 4000 people participated in the event, according to this article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.

The main cabin is spacious and well-lit. The cafe section has plenty of tables. Voyages can range from 4 to 6 hours, and that’s plenty of time to grab a snack and talk story.

Most of the interior seating in the main cabin is located away from the windows. There are flat-screen displays mounted throughout the cabin. During the tour, the monitors showed a video that must have been shot while the Alakai sailed to Honolulu. On a regular voyage, the monitors will display interesting ocean sights captured by the ship’s video cameras.

There is a spacious first-class cabin on the bow. It costs an extra US$20 a seat. I wonder if the Superferry’s staff will be diligent about keeping the main cabin customers out of the premium areas. I’ve rarely seen flight attendants tell people to return to the main cabin, although that warning is a standard part of the safety briefing these days.

Plenty of amenities, but there’s something missing

First class is the only place where I saw accessible AC outlets, and these were few and far between. We saw perhaps 4 or 5 work carrels in this cabin. At least the few outlets that we found didn’t have a meter attached to them, as they now do at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Anyone who wants to watch a movie on their laptop needs to board the Superferry early or make sure they charged their battery.

There’s no evidence that the Superferry will offer Internet access during voyages, either.

According to an article in yesterday’s Honolulu Advertiser, two court cases regarding the ferry’s environmental impact are due to be heard soon.

While I’m glad we got a chance to see the Alakai, it seems that the Superferry’s management had planned for a smaller event:

1. There were no souvenirs available. No free pens. No t-shirts. No hats. Even the boat’s gift shop was closed! This seems like a missed opportunity to get the brand and logo out to the most interested members of the public.
2. The boat seemed short-staffed. Most of the employees were leading very quick tours of the vessel. It was hard to find anyone who could answer a question or two.
3. While the Superferry is taking reservations online and by telephone, I couldn’t find anyone who was taking Superferry reservations during the event. All those willing customers right on board the boat, and no money changing hands?
4. There is no passenger parking at Pier 19. If you want to ride the Superferry without taking your car on board, then take a cab or have a friend drop you at the pier. I hope that the Superferry adds those tips to their walk-on passengers page soon. Most of the tour groups were shuttled in from downtown Honolulu courtesy of the Superferry, and a shuttle service from a remote parking lot might be a good side business.
5. I didn’t see any rental car counters at Pier 19. Perhaps riders should call Enterprise if they need a rental car to pick them up!