The closing of Aloha Airlines is a tragedy for the nearly 2000 employees involved. They were given less than 48 hours notice that they would be out of work.
Here is the spin from Aloha management:
Airline president and chief executive officer David Banmiller said "..unfair competition has succeeded in driving us out of business, bringing to an end a 61-year-old company with a proud legacy of serving millions of travelers in the true spirit of Aloha."
Hawaiian blogger Rosa Say takes a more realistic view of the situation and I agree with her no-nonsense viewpoint:
"Broken business models, inferior customer service, and management which does little to nothing about both of those things is what causes businesses to fail. Tough competition and rising costs may accelerate your demise, but you can’t blame those two things for everything."
Rosa’s personal experience flying Aloha Airlines is a large part of her feelings. She reported that service levels on ‘Aloha’ Airlines were horrible.
Times are tough and there are always competitors who can outspend you, but there is no excuse for providing crappy service and blaming the demise of your company on "unfair competition".
Read Rosa’s article Working Beyond Their Means for an excellent presentation of the whole story.
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