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Aloha lost Aloha Airlines, battered by the events of Sept. 11 like the rest of the nation's carriers, lost $12 million in the final quarter of 2001, according to figures filed with the federal government. A year earlier quarter, Aloha lost $2.3 million.
$12 million
in 4th quarter
The travel downturn batters
the carrier despite federal aidBy Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com
Despite the current red ink, the airline said it is financially stable and growing and its new mainland business is compensating for the fall in interisland travel after Sept. 11.
"Most of the bad news is behind us," said Glenn R. Zander, Aloha president and chief executive officer.
The airline rearranged its debt, Zander said. "We actually have quite a cash reserve of $30 million."
The worst problem was the fall in interisland business that came from the travel slowdown after Sept. 11, Zander said. Travel to Hawaii dropped, dragging down interisland travel as well.
Aloha's interisland revenues dropped $12 million compared to the last quarter of 2000, a 20 percent to 30 percent decline in business, Zander said.
The airline had a fourth-quarter loss from operations alone of $16.5 million, according to figures filed at the U.S. Department of Transportation. In the year-earlier quarter, Aloha lost $3.4 million from operations.
However, Aloha's bottom line was helped by $7.7 million it received from the federal emergency fund set up to help airlines recovery from their post-Sept. 11 losses.
But it also had unusual operating expenses of about $6 million in the latest quarter for professional, legal and consulting fees related to the failed merger with Hawaiian Airlines.
Fourth-quarter revenues of $68.7 million were down 4.2 percent from $71.6 million in the last quarter of 2000.
"Interisland revenues were severely impacted by 9/11," Zander said. The airline's hopes are in the longer hauls.
On May 1 last year Aloha started daily service from Honolulu to Orange County, near Disneyland, and on June 1 launched daily Maui-Orange County service. Earlier in the year, it extended to Las Vegas the daily Honolulu-Oakland and Maui-Oakland flights it has run since early 2000.
Last week, Aloha said it will expand its North America business with a daily flight from Honolulu to Burbank, Calif., starting June 1 and daily Honolulu-Vancouver, B.C., service starting June 15.
For all of 2001, Aloha posted a net loss of $10.6 million, compared to a net loss of $4.3 million for 2000.
The figures filed at the Department of Transportation are not comparable with the fourth-quarter estimate Aloha included in the bulky disclosure issued earlier this year in connection with the proposed merger with Hawaiian.
The latest numbers do not include the operations of Island Air, the sister airline that Aloha operates to Hawaii's smaller airports.