Dissident pilot fired
by Hawaiian Airlines

Veteran Hawaiian Airlines pilot Robert Konop, whose investment plan for the carrier fell apart after two financial backers were indicted on federal conspiracy charges, has been fired by the company.

Konop, who had been with Hawaiian for more than 20 years, said he received a certified letter last week from the carrier informing him that he had been let go because of disloyalty, failure to work with management and lying. He has filed a union grievance with the Air Line Pilots Association and the matter will be heard before an arbitrator.

"All the charges were incorrect factually and everything refers to the record of the bankruptcy case," Konop said. "Essentially, the whole thing says I was disloyal for failing to support the trustee's plan and failed to work with management for not going along with their plan. The letter also accuses me of interfering with the contract ratification process."

Officials from Hawaiian and the pilots union declined to comment because it involved a personnel matter.

Konop, 53, became a visible figure in the more than 2-year-old bankruptcy after outside groups were allowed to offer reorganization plans for Hawaiian. Konop, who always represented himself in court, initially filed his own plan before later teaming up with two other groups on another plan.

Hawaiian put Konop on paid leave at the beginning of March and paid him through April 20, Konop said. He hasn't been paid since and said he was anticipating the discharge. He said he expects to win his grievance.

In the meantime, Konop said he's losing money by not flying. He said he was paid $163 an hour for 900 hours a year, or $146,700 a year.

The pilot, who lives in Los Angeles, had been part of a reorganization plan that was competing with the plan backed by Hawaiian Airlines trustee Joshua Gotbaum. One of the individuals connected with Konop's plan, Paul Boghosian, was indicted for conspiracy to commit bankruptcy fraud and commercial bribery after allegedly agreeing to pay a $500,000 bribe to an FBI agent posing as a hedge fund manager in exchange for a $2.5 million loan. William Spencer, an associate of Boghosian, was indicted for conspiracy for allegedly lying about the ability of his firm's trust to inject $300 million to bring the airline out of bankruptcy.

Konop has not been charged with a crime, but Gotbaum has filed a contempt motion against him and the group's attorneys. Gotbaum is seeking to recoup the airline's attorney's fees and costs for the time and cost the airline spent in investigating and responding to motions of the ill-fated Konop reorganization plan.

Hawaiian expects to emerge from bankruptcy on June 1.