Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Hawaiian Airlines may go for China
Hawaiian Airlines will vie for service to Shanghai in an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation next week."We will be in competition with other airlines for these rights," said Keoni Wagner, vice president for public affairs at Hawaiian. "If we're successful we would begin service in 2006" four times a week using long-range Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.
The jets can carry 252 passengers, Wagner said.
Under the current plan, Hawaiian would not need to buy or lease additional aircraft. The airline has not yet set fares.
"The process itself will take several months before any authorities are granted," Wagner said.
Competitor Aloha Airlines has no plans to file an application for service to China and is "not announcing any new destinations for the rest of this year," said Stu Glauberman, vice president for corporate communications.
China welcomes visitors, said Wagner, himself a recent visitor, but leisure travel is not a simple matter for Chinese citizens. Obtaining tourist visas is a time consuming and difficult process.
Hawaii tourism officials have been licking their chops over the potential visitor market in China for years, establishing an official tourism office there last month.
Boeing claim cost $66.5 million
RC Aviation LLC, the investors group that has the backing of Hawaiian Airlines trustee Joshua Gotbaum and the unsecured creditors' committee, will pay $66.5 million to Boeing Capital Corp. to settle the aircraft lessor's claim against Hawaiian Airlines, according to a filing yesterday in federal Bankruptcy Court.A hearing also has been set for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 27 to approve restructured leases between Hawaiian Airlines and Boeing Capital involving 14 aircraft.
As part of the agreement, Boeing Capital has agreed not to object to the joint reorganization plan filed by the trustee, creditors committee and parent company Hawaiian Holdings Inc., whose top shareholder is RC Aviation. If the court grants the motion, the lease agreements would become effective on Oct. 1.
