Shake up
at Hawaiian Airlines

Four top execs are let go
as the airline asks employees
for $15 million in wage concessions

---

By Dave Segal
dsegal@starbulletin.com

Hawaiian Airlines, seeking ways to cut costs amid a turbulent environment for the aviation industry, has asked for $15 million in wage concessions from its employees and has shaken up its management by letting go four top executives and reassigning responsibilities.

John Happ, senior vice president for marketing and sales; Lyn Anzai, vice president for legal and government affairs and the wife of Hawaii's former attorney general; Brian Hermansader, vice president for maintenance and engineering; and John Solomito, senior director of U.S. mainland stations, were all released, according to a Feb. 1 memo to employees by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Adams.

The wage concessions, which were not mentioned in the memo obtained by the Star-Bulletin, were confirmed by a person close to the situation. The airline has about 3,500 employees.

Hawaiian Air spokesman Keoni Wagner would not comment on the wage concession request and layoffs, claiming they were an internal matter.

"We have had meetings with employees and major stakeholders to formulate a new business plan for Hawaiian but I am not at liberty to discuss them," he said.

Mark Dunkerley, the company's newly hired president and chief operating officer, will assume direct responsibility for marketing and sales while Adams will oversee the legal department. Wagner, the vice president of public affairs, will be in charge of a new public affairs division with government affairs being consolidated with media relations, community relations and internal communications.

In addition, Norm Davies, executive vice president for operations, has taken over direct responsibility for the maintenance and engineering division until Thursday, when John Judge will join the company and assume those duties as interim vice president of maintenance and engineering. Judge recently retired from American Airlines as managing director of aircraft maintenance for American's Dallas-Fort Worth hub and its southern division.

Adams also said in the memo that Blaine Miyasato, vice president for customer services, will head up an evaluation of the structure and systems of the customer services division. Miyasato's expanded role resulted in Solomito losing his position, the memo indicated.

In addition to these changes, 12 other noncontract or management positions are being eliminated, restructured or reassigned, the memo said.

"As we continue to pursue other changes ... it is vitally important that everyone at Hawaiian remain focused on our customers and maintain the highest possible levels of operational performance," Adams wrote. "We need strong teamwork to effectively meet the challenges ahead."

Hawaiian, which lost $43.2 million in the first nine months of 2002, earned $6.4 million in the third quarter. The company is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and total 2002 earnings next month.