StarBulletin.com

Aloha spirit lives on for employees


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POSTED: Sunday, January 11, 2009

Many ex-Aloha Airlines workers are still keeping in touch with their “;ohana”; after years of working together.

Whether online or through regular get-togethers at the park, they are helping each other and keeping the camaraderie alive. That was, after all, the aloha spirit of the company founded by Chinese publisher Ruddy Tongg more than six decades ago as Trans-Pacific Airlines.

When Trans-Pacific made its maiden flight in 1946, it was scheduled on an aloha Friday.

Tongg founded the kamaaina airline as a competitor of Hawaiian Airlines. Even though he faced numerous obstacles, he and later, his investors, forged on.

  Throughout its history, Aloha gained notoriety - with colorful costumes and airline flight attendants that strummed ukuleles and danced hula - according to Bill Wood's “;50 Years of Aloha.”;

What made Aloha different, said Chris Opiopio, an employee for 30 years, is that “;everyone knew everyone. It was not like a big corporation where you never saw your CEO.”;

Despite impending mergers and financial difficulties in the latter 5 years of its existence, many Hawaii residents began to think of it as a permanent fixture in the isles, as much as Leonard's malasadas or Matsumoto Shave Ice.

Since many Aloha employees worked there for several decades, it was a shock to learn of its abrupt shut down.

Sarah Hodell, career counselor at Windward Community College, says company closures are a devastating blow for a tight-knit group of employees because it becomes part of one's identity.

“;It's more than losing a job,”; she said. “;It's losing their family.”;

  Everyone is going to be impacted differently, she said, but focusing on who to blame is not productive.

“;Focus on what you can do, not who's to blame,”; she said. “;Focus on the strengths you have to build on, your resources and family.”;

She encourages talking about it to family, friends and others who will be supportive. Hodell said returning to school can be a positive step, even if it isn't for a new degree or career. Sometimes change and adversity are the catalysts for pursuing a long-delayed goal or dream, she said.

“;It's an opportunity to stop, look and reflect, and to take a fresh look at life,”; she said. “;It's a booster of self-esteem because nothing yanks at your self-esteem worse than losing your job.”;

Opiopio, who now works at Mokulele Airlines, said she's confident there is a place for every Aloha Airlines worker somewhere, even in these tough times. The Aloha spirit, after all, prevails.