DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Former Aloha Airlines employees packed yesterday's job fair at the Blaisdell Center, spurring a lot of hugs and picture-taking among longtime colleagues. Nordstrom recruiter Jennifer Harrington, right, took a group photo of former flight attendants Liane Kaneshiro, huddling from left, Sharon Rahe, Susan Schroeder, Sandi Sue and Jo Ann Fukao.
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Hundreds look for fresh start at job fair
All Bobbi Nihipali has ever wanted is job security.
People always need food. That's why she worked with a food broker before that business shut down.
People are always traveling. That's why she got into travel planning for Island Holidays before that company closed.
Nihipali lost her job for a third time because of a company going down last week. She was a reservationist for 18 years with Aloha Airlines before it abruptly stopped its passenger service, leaving about 1,900 people without jobs.
"It was my dream job since I was a child, and I thought I was going to retire there," she said. "Now I'm asking myself, 'Was I meant to work?'"
Nihipali was among hundreds who showed up yesterday for the job fair at the Blaisdell Center's exhibition hall. Sponsored by the city and First Hawaiian Bank, the fair attracted more than 900 displaced employees within the first hour. The event was open to the unemployed of Aloha and ATA Airlines as well as workers of Weyerhaeuser Co., which shuts down in May.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Ex-Aloha Airlines flight attendants Jen Yamauchi (eight years' experience), left, Gail Estrella (20 years) and Vaune Kino (25 years) stopped by the Hawaiian Airlines booth yesterday.
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About 190 employers, including other airlines, nonprofit groups, hotel chains, restaurants as well as city and state agencies were taking applications.
Mayor Mufi Hannemann said there are about a thousand vacant but funded positions in the city government.
It was like a "reunion," many employees said. Besides soliciting applications, they hugged, talked story and took pictures.
"It's good therapy for everybody," the mayor said. "Of course there are some heartbreaking situations that people talk about, but by and large everyone is looking to the future."
Nihipali picked up applications at several vendors, including Outrigger Resorts, the Salvation Army and Pearl Harbor.
"I'm looking for something with stability," Nihipali said. "I still have a good 10 years left in me, and I feel I'd be a good asset in any company that'd accept me."
Jo Ann Fukao, a flight attendant for 32 years, is keeping her options open. She said she hopes to take her decades of customer service experience elsewhere.
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
About 190 employers participated in yesterday's job fair at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall for former employees of Aloha Airlines, ATA and Weyerhaeuser Co. A large crowd was gathered around the Board of Water Supply table.
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"I thought I was going to retire with Aloha," she said. "I didn't even think about anything else. But we're moving and we'll be OK."
A "couple of hundred" people approached Hawaiian Airlines for the gamut of positions open at the former competitor.
"Once people like working for the airlines, it's in your blood," said Pua Akimoto, manager of integrated disability benefits at Hawaiian Air. "They're family to us, so we're saddened by what's happened."
With the volcanic fog hanging around, Terry Visperas, an Aloha Airlines employee for 17 years, is worried about his 5-year-old son's respiratory problems, especially since he no longer has insurance.
"I have no regrets," Visperas said, clutching more than 50 copies of his resume in his hand. "I just hope to jump-start my next opportunity here."
