HISTORY OF ALOHA AIRLINES, TPA
The airline was founded as charter carrier Trans Pacific Airlines by publisher Ruddy Tongg as a competitor to Hawaiian Airlines, commencing operations on Aloha Friday, July 26, 1946. It soon earned the nickname "The Aloha Airline." Certification as a scheduled airline came on June 6, 1949.In 1958, real estate developer Hung Wo Ching purchased a stake in the carrier, renaming it Aloha Airlines. In 1987 he took the company private, and it remained in the hands of the Ing and Ching families until its emergence from bankruptcy in 2006, when additional investors including The Yucaipa Cos., Aloha Aviation Investment Group, and Aloha Hawaii Investors LLC took stakes in the airline.Aloha began operating jet aircraft in 1969. It introduced its frequent flyer program, AlohaPass, in 1983. Night time freighter services started in October 1985 and transpacific services began in February 2000.Rising costs (in particular, poorly negotiated aircraft leases), and an economic recession in Japan put Aloha into a defensive position in the early 2000s, soon exacerbated by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the SARS panic of 2003, and soaring fuel prices. On December 30, 2004, Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an attempt to cut costs and remain competitive with other airlines serving Hawaii. Following approval of new labor contracts and securing additional investment by new investors, the airline emerged from bankruptcy protection on February 17, 2006.Mergers with archrival Hawaiian Airlines have been attempted at least three times, in 1970, 1988, and 2001, none successfully..
