Aloha Airlines

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Aloha Airlines Template:Airline codes is an airline headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii USA. It operates extensive scheduled services within the Hawaiian Islands, and between Hawaii and the West Coast of the United States. Its main base is Honolulu International Airport. Aloha also markets some interisland routes served by partner Island Air, and its frequent flyer program, AlohaPass, is a partner of United Airlines' Mileage Plus program.

Aloha is a Hawaiian word expressing affection or love, commonly used as a greeting.

1 History
2 Incidents and accidents
3 Destinations
4 Fleet
5 External links

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History

The airline was founded as charter carrier Trans Pacific Airlines by publisher Ruddy Tongg as a competitor to Hawaiian Airlines, commencing operations on Aloha Friday, July 26, 1946. It soon earned the nickname "The Aloha Airline." Certification as a scheduled airline came on June 6, 1949.

In 1958, real estate developer Hung Wo Ching purchased a stake in the carrier, renaming it Aloha Airlines. In 1987 he took the company private, and it remained in the hands of the Ing and Ching families until its emergence from bankruptcy in 2006, when additional investors including The Yucaipa Cos., Aloha Aviation Investment Group, and Aloha Hawaii Investors LLC took stakes in the airline.

Aloha began operating jet aircraft in 1969. It introduced its frequent flyer program, AlohaPass, in 1983. Night time freighter services started in October 1985 and transpacific services began in February 2000.

Rising costs (in particular, poorly negotiated aircraft leases), and an economic recession in Japan put Aloha into a defensive position in the early 2000s, soon exacerbated by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the SARS panic of 2003, and soaring fuel prices. On December 30, 2004, Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an attempt to cut costs and remain competitive with other airlines serving Hawaii. Following approval of new labor contracts and securing additional investment by new investors, the airline emerged from bankruptcy protection on February 17, 2006.

Mergers with archrival Hawaiian Airlines have been attempted at least three times, in 1970, 1988, and 2001, none successfully.

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Incidents and accidents

Image:Alohaairlinesdisaster.jpg

On April 28, 1988, Aloha Airlines Flight 243 Boeing 737 (N73711) interisland flight from Hilo Airport to Honolulu International Airport carrying 89 passengers and 6 crew members experienced rapid decompression when an 18 feet section of the fuselage roof and sides were torn from the airplane. One flight attendant was forced out of the airplane from the pressure difference and is presumed dead. Several passengers sustained life-threatening injuries including instances of massive head wounds. The aircraft declared an emergency and landed at Kahului Airport on Maui with slight difficulty. Noise created by the rush of air rendered vocal communication useless and the crew had to use hand signals during landing.

Investigations of the disaster concluded that the accident was caused by metal fatigue. The disaster caused almost all major United States air carriers to retire their oldest airplane models.

The event was dramatised as a television movie titled Miracle Landing starring Connie Sellecca and Wayne Rogers. The incident is also the focus of an episode of the series Air Crash Investigation, shown on the National Geographic Channel.

The airline rates an "A" safety rating, the highest grade possible, according to Air Rankings Online (see Airline Rankings). Rankings are cumulatives, based on the number of fatal accidents per million flights that the carrier has flown since 1970.

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Destinations

Aloha Airlines serves the following cities (at September 2005):

Hawaii

U.S Mainland

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Fleet

The Aloha Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (at March 2006):

9 Boeing 737-200
3 Boeing 737-200 (cargo)
7 Boeing 737-700

In March 2006, the average age of Aloha Airlines fleet is 25.4 years, one of the oldest in the nation

Aloha Airlines' jet fleet consists of two types of Boeing 737 aircraft. The mainstay of the fleet, used on interisland runs, is the 737-200. The newer, long-range variant, the 737-700, has wider wings and greater fuel capacity and is deployed for trips to the mainland.

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