Hawaiian Airlines
CEO Casey resigns

The HTA director's job is
"of interest," says the departing exec

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

Paul J. Casey will resign from Hawaiian Airlines at the end of June, the airline said today.

Casey, 56, who is vice chairman, chief executive officer and president, said that after five years running the airline he needs a break.

"Five years running an airline in this day and age is a lifetime," he said.

During the merger discussions with Aloha Airlines "I was trying to get the merger done realizing that I would be out of a job," he said. That led him to "do some thinking about the things I would want to do with the rest of my life." The process firmed up his decision to go, even though the merger fell through, Casey said.

Casey joined Hawaiian in April 1997 as president and chief executive officer, became vice chairman and CEO in January 2001 and gained the added job of president when Robert W. Zoller left that job in mid-April.

Until a successor is found, Chairman John W. Adams, who led the investor group that bought control of Hawaiian in 1996, will take on the responsibilities of CEO and president, the company said.

Casey had eight years in key posts at Continental Airlines and two years as president of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau before joining Hawaiian. His name has come up as a possible choice to head the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Casey said he has not applied for the HTA executive director post and has not been interviewed, but people have asked him if he would be interested.

"It is of interest, yes," Casey said today. "I think I could contribute something to the tourism industry, given my background, but I'm really not sure I want to jump from one high-profile job into another."

The HTA recently hired an executive search firm and said the process of finding a new executive could take months.