There were two major airlines flying interisland here in Hawaii for the longest time. It was Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines. Back in the early to mid 80s', both airlines provided comparable service. In the late 80s' to early 90s', Hawaiian Airlines got to be a little more expensive, but offered a little more than Aloha Airlines. Towards the late 90s' to early 2000, Aloha Airlines began slipping in my opinion, so despite a slightly lower cost, I found Hawaiian Airlines to be my preferred airlines. I've been flying Hawaiian Airlines since 1995 whenever possible. About two years ago, "Go! Airlines" (operated by Mesa Airlines) entered the market. This caused a huge fare war that at one point had airlines offering flights for as low a $2 each way. The fare war along with fuel prices caused the three airlines to play a deadly game of "chicken". Service on Go! was o.k., while service on Aloha Airlines continued to slip. The planes looked and smelled horrible, and the customer service was lacking. Hawaiian Airlines slipped a little, but not as bad as Aloha. It was only a matter of time before one of the airlines would cash in their chips and call it quits. Keep in mind that all three airlines paid the same price for fuel and other facilities costs. The labor costs were different and other operating costs such as equipment leases, etc. In the case of the demise of Aloha Airlines, I think it was the lack of "Aloha" that was the main contributing factor. Fuel was one of the costs that were equal across the board for the airline carriers here in Hawaii. I stand by my earlier statement that it was crappy equipment + crappy facilities + crappy service = bye bye Aloha!
gf
