The End of an Era :(

[Sean_TK]

This highly unfortunate news came to light today....
http://www.alohaairlines.com/landing_pa ... elease.php

I had previously lived in Hawaii for about 4 years and remember flying on Aloha multiple times...it was a great airline, and will be missed!

Hawaiian and Aloha were always competing for decades, but now that Mesa's "Go! Airlines" entered the picture, I think it was too much for already-struggling Aloha...

I already know of many in the aviation community that are royally....."annoyed" to put it very mildly, at Go!/Mesa....and I think that this even upset a few folks at Hawaiian, since they have been operating side by side for decades, and this will completely throw off the Hawaiian air-travel market. Way to go Mesa.

Aloha sure was a nice airline, and besides the service, it is now even more difficult to find a good airline where you can still ride in a classic jetliner (737-200).

"Mahalo nui loa"  for the memories Aloha!
-SeanTK

[Sean_TK]

Just an update,

As of today, Aloha Airlines is now officially dead in the islands. The airline had been serving Hawaii for 61 years, and began mainland routes in 2000.
This announcement brings with it the loss of around 2000 jobs, a large piece of Hawaiian history, and the loss of a chance to experience classic 737-200 aircraft in the US.
Both Aloha and Hawaiian airlines were/are like family members to many people living in the islands, even with each other to some extent, with each airline known for their great service and compassionate flight-crews. Now, only two major inter-island carriers remain: Hawaiian, which is preserving the classic inter-island airline experience both carriers were known for...and "go!"...which is just your standard new-entry commuter line from what I have heard.

I'm sure that we will continue to see Aloha repaints for FS for years to come, but in real life, as of today, this great airline is now just a memory.
...Depressing....

-Sean K.

[Ben R]

Its a shame really

[drummer_tom]

I remember watching an "Air Crash Investiagtion" series which featured Aloha - The roof of the plane was ripped off. I believe it was due to metal fatigue.

Such a shame they are gone.

[beaky]

I'm upset enough that they retired their DC-3s... this is even sadder.
But business is business... I just hope the new guys will keep the old routes active.

[an-225]

I concur, Aloha airlines were a symbolic airline, much like Delta or Hapag Loyd. It will be missed.

The opportunity to fly on a 737-200 isn't completely wiped out however - OzJet have a few in Australia. I think a -200 took off over my house a few minutes ago.

[Papa9571]

Their passenger carrying days are done but they will still haul freight

[Sean_TK]

They possibly may still haul freight. I have not seen confirmed reports if the Seattle company bought the freight ops yet, and if they did, I do not know if Aloha Cargo will keep their paintjobs. Fedex and UPS does some inter-island stuff there so I don't know how successful the purchasing company expects a purely cargo Aloha to be...