Mar 30 2008
Aloha Oe to Aloha Airlines
Sad news about Aloha Airlines shutting down passenger operations after 61 years of business in Hawaii.
It makes me wonder what kind of impact that will have on the state’s economy with an influx of 1,900 people to join the unemployment line. It saddens me to see iconic local businesses like Aloha Airlines going belly up and it makes me want to boycott Go! Airlines. I suppose it’s akin to a Wal-mart coming in and running the local mom & pop stores out of business. But, what’s a consumer to do in these tight economic times? The smart thing would be to patronize the business who can give you the most bang for your buck, but more often than not, that’s not going to be a small or locally-owned business. It’s like the “made in China” dilemma, but there’s enough to be said about that for another entry entirely, so let’s not even go there.
On a more selfish note, the closure of Aloha Airlines affects me because I managed to accumulate 70,000+ miles with Aloha Airlines mostly through the usage of my First Hawaiian Bank Aloha AirAwards credit card. A lot of those miles were obtained from charging the more than $5,500 in expenses associated with my recent in vitro procedures. I did this consciously with the expressed intent of earning miles for air travel sometime in the near future. Now, I suppose I can kiss those free trips goodbye. Aloha oe.
A 30-something Christian girl, blissfully wedded to her perfect match (the yang to her yin) of 14 years. Living life in Hawaii, less than 5 miles from her hometown, a slave to her mortgage payment, but seeking balance in her pursuit of family, faith, recreation, and rest.
from the looks of the news i heard, it filed for bankruptcy last week - not a big surprise since every single airline has done so the past few years….halting service tho - i wouldnt get too nervous about losing your miles just yet, southwest and delta announced grounding some of their birds the past 2 weeks or so as well…it’s slowing down, but ur miles will go to use - there are a ton of other ppl in ur same situation and i’m sure u all combined wont be quiet….
but besides all that…. that is sick that u live in hawaii…. i need a vacation
Aloha Airlines was a Hawaiian symbol that has been around a long, long time and it’s a shame to see any business fail. Having said that we are heading to Oahu in a few weeks, thankfully our tickets are with Hawaiian Air.
Mahalo, Wave Shoppe
Aloha Champuru,
I’ll be losing 450K+ in Aloha Airawards. I am not hopeful that these miles will good in some form because it costs Aloha $$$ to allow you to redeem the miles. The good news is that FHB is transferring all cardholders to another type of program not tied into one carrier or company. From today you’ll earn points towards cash, gift certificates or travel.