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Cat, USAirways came into the market because AmericaWest Airlines was already flying to Hawaii, and when they merged and switched their name to USAirways, the route stayed the same, just the aircraft changed.
Oh yeah - Hawaiian Airlines is a codeshare partner with AmericaWest Airlines/USAirways
Carrie
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If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
Edited by - Carolann R on 10/25/2007 17:45:33
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Although there is no technical or legal reason to prevent them, the mainland based "legacy" carriers have never made an entry into the inter-island business. Oh, Northwest and maybe one other company have made some stops at some island other than Oahu coming to or from the mainland, but they didn't even try to sell inter-island tickets. It was just cheaper than sending flight to both places. Quite a few of the legacy carriers do have code shares or frequent flyer miles arrangements with the Hawaii-based airlines.
Some airline finance guru somewhere said that the break-even point for inter-island flights is somewhere around $50-60 per flight segment. I have paid as much as $100 per segment to Aloha and Hawaiian (advance purchase, not walk-up) before Mesa arrived.
Were they gouging? It sort of felt like it when I knew I could fly segments of similar distance on the mainland for $59 to $79.
Has Mesa been up front and fair in all their dealings in Hawaii? Probably not. It is a shame that they couldn't just come here and do cut-throat competition without resorting to dirty tricks (using bankruptcy data) and cover-ups (deleting the data along with the "porn."
One of the court cases is pending a judge's ruling right now. It should be interesting. Stay tuned.
Cheers,
Jerry
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Oh man I'm so outta the loop...someone tell me about Mesa's porn-thing and the bankruptcy thing (abbreviated version if possible LOL)!
Carrie
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If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
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Basically, Mesa got caught doing exactly what they claimed they were not doing, trying to drive Aloha out of business using confidential and protected information they obtained during Aloha’s bankruptcy. They were ordered not to delete or destroy any information on their computers. Mesa got caught AGAIN. When the Judged asked them why they destroyed and deleted the files, their excuse was the CFO had a secret life of viewing pornography while at work. When he tried to cover up his secret porno viewing, he “accidentally” erased other files (all related to Aloha and Hawiian airlines) that was on his computer, and the computers of other executives, and computers all across the company, and computers at homes, and….. But Mesa did discipline the CFO; he’s on a 30 day paid leave for his porno viewing.
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Okay, so go with me on this...why would Mesa have any bankruptcy confidential info on Aloha? I mean isn't that all public domain? Or if it isn't, what could Mesa gain by possessing it?
Carrie
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If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
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Carrie, as part of the bankruptcy reorganization, both Aloha and Hawaiian were seeking investors to buy a stake in their operations and help prop them up financially. Mesa expressed an interest in investing and was given some financial statements and other inside information on the condition that it only be used for determining whether to invest and not in a competitive situation. Mesa declined to invest in either airline and shortly thereafter announced their intent to enter the Hawaii market. Lawsuits were the result.
Hope this helps bring you up to date,
Jerry
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Thanks Jerry. I have to wonder why they would participate in something as obvious at this...hmmm. Not exactly a covert operation, eh?
Carrie
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5308783
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
