Aloha Airlines, which has been operating since before Hawaii became a state, abruptly announced yesterday it is shutting down passenger service after today.
The 61-year-old carrier, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just 10 days earlier -- its second such filing in a little more than three years -- said it ran out of time to find a qualified buyer or secure continued financing for its passenger business.
David Banmiller, president and chief executive of Aloha, accused Mesa Air Group's go! of pushing Aloha over the edge.
"Unfair competition has succeeded in driving us out of business," said Banmiller, referring to a below-cost interisland airfare war that go! triggered when it entered the Hawaii market in June 2006.
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Aloha ‘oe
