Aloha Airlines Aloha Airlines wants its 3,000 or so employees, including management, to take a pay cut as part of its effort to secure a federal guarantee for a $45 million loan.
seeks pay cuts
By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com
The airline declined to give specifics.
"Aloha, like any other carrier in the United States, has experienced losses from 9/11," said Stephanie Ackerman, an Aloha spokeswoman. When federal loan support became available under emergency legislation after the Sept. 11 disaster, Aloha applied for it, she said.
She said concessions by employees are an integral part of the application to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board and Aloha is having meetings with its employees to explain what will be expected of them.
KHON-TV reported last night that the airline wants to trim all of its employees' pay by 10 percent, but Ackerman would not confirm that figure.
Aloha lost more than $37 million in its operations in the period Oct. 1, 2001, through June 30, 2002, according to its financial filings at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The federal loan program provides federal guarantees of private-sector loans to help airlines get over the losses they suffered in the decline of travel since 9/11.
Aloha said it is arranging to borrow $45 million in the private sector and has asked the federal government to guarantee $40.5 million of that. Government guarantees make it easier to get commercial loans at favorable interest rates.The airline said the money will go into its operations.
Earlier, under a separate emergency aid program, Aloha received federal grants totaling $8.5 million. Competitor Hawaiian Airlines received $31 million under that program but has not asked for a loan guarantee.
