CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Kumu hula Mehana Hind, center, presents an oli with Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram, left, and Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci during a news conference on Dec. 3.
Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
The open letter from Hawaii’s four mayors promoting the acquisition of Hawaiian Airlines by Alaska Airlines reads like a press release authored by the airlines’ PR departments (“Hawaiian, Alaska airlines combo is good for Hawaii,” Island Voices, Star-Advertiser, Feb. 18). Since the mayors are no different than the rest of Hawaii’s politicians — firmly in the pockets of big corporate tourism — this should surprise nobody.
Hawaiian is Hawaiian in name only. It’s a corporation owned by stockholders, few of whom live in Hawaii. Its customer service is legendary, and not in a good way. It has a fleet of Airbus A321neo planes with faulty engines under recall, and its aging wide- bodies and small Boeing 717s need to be replaced. Its new 787s are designed for restricted noncompetitive, high- density, long-haul international routes.
The pending acquisition does significantly reduce competition. l think federal regulators will oppose it and Alaska will come to its senses and drop the idea.
Paul Pollitt
Kaneohe
EXPRESS YOURSELF
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser welcomes all opinions. Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor.
>> Write us: We welcome letters up to 150 words, and guest columns of 500-600 words. We reserve the right to edit for clarity and length. Include your name, address and daytime phone number.
>> Mail: Letters to the Editor, Honolulu Star-Advertiser 7 Waterfront Plaza, 500 Ala Moana, Suite #7-500 Honolulu, HI 96813
>> Contact: 529-4831 (phone), letters@staradvertiser.com, staradvertiser.com/editorial/submit-letter
Correction: Hawaiian Airlines’ corporate headquarters is in Honolulu, not Phoenix, as stated in an earlier version of this letter to the editor.