Final farewell for Hawaiian’s ‘Ohana operations
Hawaiian Airlines won’t restart its ‘Ohana by Hawaiian passenger services between Honolulu and Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i, as well as its statewide ATR freighter cargo service. Freighter services with ATR 72 aircraft were suspended in November 2020 and passenger services with ATR 42 aircraft halted in January. Services between Honolulu and Kapalua were suspended in March 2020.
Following an in-depth assessment of the operation and its long-term viability Hawaiian decided to permanently end these services. Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO Peter Ingram said that “our hard look at the service didn’t identify a way to restart and sustainably operate it.”
At its peak the service, operated by Idaho-based Empire Airlines as a third-party feeder carrier, employed 82 pilots, flight attendants and maintenance personnel in the state of Hawai‘i, as well as 15 in Idaho. Hawaiian has started moving its ATR fleet to the US mainland for storage and eventual sale. The company lent some of its ground support equipment to Mokulele Airlines, which provides services between Honolulu and Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i.
www.hawaiianairlines.com