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Erndogg

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 27, 2004
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211
Investors decide not to back new isle airline

Grove Farm's move leaves FlyHawaii without major support

By Dave Segal
[email protected]

A group of local investors that includes America Online founder Steve Case has decided against buying into a planned new interisland carrier, FlyHawaii Airlines, leaving the airline without one of its major backers.
FlyHawaii, the brainchild of Lion Coffee founder James Delano, says its expected debut early next year now has been delayed because of the pending startup of another new interisland carrier, Phoenix-based regional carrier Mesa Airlines.
Mesa made a surprise announcement last month that it plans to begin flying in the islands early next year, joining FlyHawaii, Aloha Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and Island Air.
Grove Farm Co., owned by Case, was looking at investing in FlyHawaii along with Case and Maui Land & Pineapple Co., of which Case is the largest shareholder. Grove Farm was leading the due diligence of the carrier.
Warren Haruki, president and chief executive of Grove Farm, confirmed the company's decision yesterday.
"Had we decided to invest in FlyHawaii, it's likely that Steve Case and Maui Land & Pineapple would have seriously considered the investment," Haruki said. "A variety of reasons made us determine that the investment was not a timely one, including the Mesa announcement and the entire competitive airline business."
A FlyHawaii official said yesterday the company still plans to get off the ground sometime next year.
"We're committed to doing this," said Chris Parsons, vice president of administration for FlyHawaii. "It's just a question of the timing. We think there will be a big hole in the market for efficient turbo-prop (interisland flights). That's not what Mesa is and what (now-bankrupt) Aloha is going to be."
Parsons said FlyHawaii is in various stages of discussions with "more than a few" investors, but he declined to identity them. Parsons acknowledged there was one group of investors that FlyHawaii was talking to that dropped out after Mesa announced its plans. "They were going to be a major investor but they never committed," he said.
Haruki said Grove Farm had been interested in the airline because it offered alternative travel to the neighbor islands at a lower price to consumers. Maui Land & Pineapple previously took the lead in reviewing an investment in the planned Hawaii Superferry, and Grove Farm and Case later followed.
Mesa took another step forward yesterday when it appointed Greg Stephens as the new chief operating officer for its Hawaii operation. Stephens had been president of Mesa's Air Midwest subsidiary. The carrier also named Mickey Bowman as vice president of scheduling and planning in Hawaii.
Parsons said FlyHawaii plans to bide its time to see how the market for interisland flights shakes out because "everything changed" with Mesa's planned arrival.
"We'd just as soon wait if there's going to be a three-way battle between Hawaiian, Aloha and Mesa, because it seems like that wouldn't be the best time to enter the market," Parsons said. "We'd rather see what happens and enter the market after that."
Case was traveling yesterday and was unavailable for comment. David Cole, the chairman and CEO of Maui Land & Pineapple, said from Washington, D.C., that the company always is looking for investments, though he declined to be specific. Both Cole and Case grew up in Hawaii.
"We're always looking at opportunities to bring new enterprise into the Hawaiian economy that can benefit the people of Hawaii as well as visitors and our shareholders," Cole said. "We're always looking at deals and we're quite interested in encouraging a more competitive interisland airline environment."
Parsons said FlyHawaii is now seeking to raise $40 million to help it take flight, up from the $32 million it previously had been looking for. That amount is needed to meet an economic fitness test required by the federal Department of Transportation.
"We're very confident we'll get the funding," Parsons said. "Everyone who looks at the business plan agrees there's a large underserved interisland market that needs low prices to be triggered."
Parsons said FlyHawaii is the only airline with the business plan that can serve the interisland market with low prices.
"We don't think the others can hit the price point consistently with all their seats," he said.
FlyHawaii, which plans to begin service with flights to Kahului, Maui, before expanding to the other major islands, will not scale back its plans because of Mesa and limit itself to smaller airports, Parsons said. "That's not the business plan we've planned," he said. "Yes, we want to serve the smaller markets, but we intend to serve the major routes as well. That's where the economies of scale are and where people want to fly."

Now maybe Orinstien will take a page from Case and Co. and stay out of the Hawaii market!
 
Mesa annouced last month that they would be starting an Hawaii operation early next year. That was in addition to FlyHI, which planned on flying about the same time.
But what these guys dont undrestand is that the inter-isle market here is a shrinking market with little or no yield.
Bringing in 50 seat RJ's (high per seat mile cost) will not make Mesa $$$-it will be a cash drain. But if Mr. O wants to piss away his profits from the other Mesa carriers-so be it.
 
:cool: J.O. can and will undercut all Hawaiian operations, period! Mesa does not have to show a profit for awhile (think war chest) while Aloha and Island Air are not so lucky.
Personaly it would be good to see Aloha fold and see some of those "pilots" look for and get a real job, without "uncl's" or "dad's" help. You know get a job based on your own merrit, a rare concept in Hawaii, but a reality for many of us.
Mesa will put a hurt on the "Big Three" anyone who says other is living in denial and needs to wake up.
 
Airline president requests security

The PW partner accuses a state-contracted guard of abusive treatment

By Gary Kubota
[email protected]

WAILUKU » The president of PW said his company is seeking federal security after he and one of his air carrier employees were allegedly hurt and arrested by private guards contracted by the state.
He was arrested and accused of harassment after a meeting with security.
James Greg said if PW can't receive security assurances, it will ask permission from the U.S. Department of Transportation to temporarily cease carrier operations until his business can figure out a way to obtain a comfortable level of security.
"I don't think anybody feels safe," said, a PW partner. "It's a pretty shocking situation."
Greg's request comes after Wackenhut security officers detained him and two PW employees, and then turned them over to police.
But PW employees also said they were beaten, and they blamed security officer Robert "Butch" Tam Ho.
Wackenhut officials declined to comment for this article. State transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa said a department representative is investigating the incident.
And Lowrey Leong, Transportation Security Administration security director for Maui County, said his office is looking into a complaint by Wackenhut about an alleged violation of regulations by PW.
"We can't really comment on it until we get all of the facts," Leong said.
According to other Pacific Wing employees, a confrontation with the private security officers occurred after one of the company pilots was arrested on Thursday.
Pilot Roman Sarkissian, 29, was charged with entering a restricted area at the Kahului Airport without authorization. He posted $50 bail.
That same day, Goshorn said he called for a meeting with Wackenhut officials to resolve several complaints, including Sarkissian's arrest. But during the meeting at the Kahului Airport manager's conference room, Tam Ho refused to answer why Sarkissian had been arrested, and there was an exchange of words, he said.
According to PW employees, Tam Ho left the meeting and returned 10 minutes later with security personnel, telling Goshorn he was under arrest for harassment. After placing him in handcuffs, Tam Ho shouted to other PW employees to leave the conference room.
Kahea Reinhardt, a PW customer-service manager, said PW security coordinator William T. Goshorn said he was leaving, but Tam Ho pushed him out of the room and then struck him repeatedly.
"The whole time, Mr. Tam Ho was beating him, (Goshorn) was just trying to put his hands up and cover his face," Reinhardt said.
Reinhardt claims that acting airport manager Dale Tsubaki unsuccessfully tried to step between Tam Ho and Goshorn. He also accused Tam Ho of beating him while he was handcuffed.
Sarkissian, 42, was arrested for harassment and resisting arrest. He was released on $300 bail. Goshorn, 30, was arrested for third-degree assault and released on $200 bail.
since Thursday's incident, Sarkissian and Goshorn have left Maui and several employees are considering quitting.

Wow, who says security isn't doing thier job!
 
true.. JO has a lot of money he can spend to eliminate competition. its called predatory pricing. i'm not a lawyer, but there are laws that govern this and it may become an issue.

about time said:
Personaly it would be good to see Aloha fold and see some of those "pilots" look for and get a real job, without "uncl's" or "dad's" help. You know get a job based on your own merrit, a rare concept in Hawaii, but a reality for many of us.

this is a pretty ignorant statement. are you saying that fedex pilots dont have real jobs because they also require a letter of recommendation? its no secret that AQ and HAL give higher priority to people with letters of rec, but so do a lot of other places. at aloha you only need one.. at fedex you need 3. i guess if aloha requires you have a dad there, at fedex you'd need a whole family there!

if you think it'd be a good idea to let the walmart of the airline industry roll over everyone and replace all the airlines with their minimum wage and benefits packages, you need to pop the nipple outta your mouth and move out of mommys house sometime. nice to hear your supporting the race to the bottom.
 
It's official.....Mesa is finally going to be recognized as the cancer of the industry. It won't be too many more years until we all have peanut wages.
 
You know get a job based on your own merrit, a rare concept in Hawaii, but a reality for many of us.


HELLO! Where have you been!! I think this whole industry has been like that for as long as it has been around!
 
if you think it'd be a good idea to let the walmart of the airline industry roll over everyone and replace all the airlines with their minimum wage and benefits packages, you need to pop the nipple outta your mouth and move out of mommys house sometime. nice to hear your supporting the race to the bottom.

Hey, that pretty funny Dash8 Driver, I hope you did not hurt your self coming up with that "Allstar. " The problem is that my mother died when I was 2, so I think my nipple sucking days ended then.

What I find humourous is that you guys get all bend out of shape when regionals hire "low time" pilots, however, Aloha will hire a 1600 hr (non military, post 9/11) to fly 737-800 and it is ALL RIGHTTT!

Yes I am looking forward to see Mesa go to Hawaii and make life miserable for those you have know idea how good they have it till it is gone.
 

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