Maui-based commuter Pacific Wings, firing another volley in the Hawaiian-Aloha airlines antitrust exemption saga, filed a reply with the U.S. Transportation Department yesterday that accuses the two larger carriers of trying to use political pressure to receive a federal waiver to coordinate routes. Pacific Wings disputes
Aloha, Hawaiian filingBy Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.comPacific Wings asserted in the filing that the two airlines are "perfectly able to make further adjustments (to their schedule on their own) ... but they are simply unwilling to do so."
"Aloha and Hawaiian seem intent on forcing a political solution to a simple business problem of supply and demand," Pacific Wings President Greg Kahlstorf said today. "Their attempts to exert political pressure are becoming quite apparent."
In another matter, Kahlstorf claims that Aloha and Hawaiian misrepresented the facts in their filing when they said that Pacific Wings approached the two larger carriers with a code-share proposal in exchange for not filing an opposing reply to the antitrust exemption request.
"We never offered to drop anything," Kahlstorf said. "We suggested all three airlines go ahead with the proposal to the transportation secretary. We wanted to make sure competitive protection and consumer protection would be in place and people would not be at the mercy of a virtual monopoly."
An Aloha attorney responded today by saying the two airlines stand by their descriptions of the discussions as reflected in the airlines' joint reply.
Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner said today that the joint filing "speaks for itself."
The Aloha attorney also said the two airlines have sent a two-sentence response to the Transportation Department informing it that "Pacific Wings' latest filing adds nothing of substance to the record, is a rehash of previous arguments, and that Aloha and Hawaiian would not burden the department with further reply."