Pacific Wings

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Pacific Wings

IATA LW	ICAO NMI	Callsign TSUNAMI
Founded		1974 (in Las Vegas, NV as Air Nevada Airlines Inc.)
Hubs		Honolulu International Airport Kahului Airport
Frequent flyer program		Pacific Wings Plus
Fleet size		6
Destinations		9
Parent company		Pacific Wings
Headquarters		Kahului, Hawaii
Key people		Greg Kahlstorf (President) Frank Ford (Chairman and CEO)
Website: http://www.pacificwings.com

Pacific Wings (Pacific Wings Airlines) is a commuter airline based in Kahului, Maui, Hawaii, USA. It operates scheduled and charter interisland services in Hawaii. Its main base is Kahului Airport, with hubs at Honolulu International Airport and Hoolehua Airport.^[1]

1 History
2 Destinations
3 Incidents and Accidents
4 Incidents with Airport Security
5 Fleet
6 External links
7 References

[edit] History

The airline was established and started operations in July 1974 when it was incorporated as Air Nevada, an on-demand charter operator. Scheduled services started in 1978. After Eagle Canyon Airlines acquired its network of tour operators, Air Nevada ceased operations in January 1998, changed its operating name to Pacific Wings and continued its scheduled services within Hawaii. ^[1]

In January 2007, the airline applied for a Essential Air Service subsidies to serve Clovis and Silver City, New Mexico from Albuquerque, competing with a bid from incumbent operator Great Lakes Aviation, and to serve Hobbs and Carlsbad, New Mexico, competing with a a bid from incumbent operator Air Midwest. Pacific Wings has said the airline would serve the routes with Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, and would aim to wean the routes off subsidy service, as it has done in Hawaii. It would also serve other destinations from Albuquerque without a subsidy.^[2]^[3]

On February 1, 2007, the airline began operating flights between Honolulu and Molokai, Honolulu and Lanai, and Kahului and Molokai as PW Express, offering $29 one way fares on every seat on every flight. Service to Kapalua, West Maui is planned to begin in March.^[4]

In March 2007, both the Lea County Commission (which oversees the airport in Hobbs) and the Carlsbad City Council voted unanimously to support Pacific Wings' bid to replace Mesa's EAS contract to both airports. In addition to subsidized service to Albuquerque and El Paso, Texas, the airline has also proposed unsubsidized service to Lubbock and Midland-Odessa, Texas and Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was also reported that the airline had withdrawn its bid for service to Silver City after local officials refused to meet with airline representatives.^[5] The United States Department of Transportation issued an order selecting Pacific Wings for the Hobbs and Carlsbad service on March 30, 2007.^[6]

[edit] Destinations

As of December 2006, Pacific Wings serves ten airports on five Hawaiian islands:^[7]

Hana, Maui – Hana Airport (HNM)
Hilo, Big Island – Hilo International Airport (ITO)
Honolulu, Oahu – Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
Kahului, Maui – Kahului Airport (OGG)
Kalaupapa, Molokai – Kalaupapa Airport (LUP)
Kamuela, Big Island – Waimea-Kohala Airport (MUE)
Kapalua, West Maui – Kapalua Airport (JHM)
Kaunakakai, Molokai – Molokai Airport (MKK)
Kona, Big Island – Kona International Airport (KOA)
Lanai City, Lanai – Lanai Airport (LNY)

[edit] Incidents and Accidents

On July 12, 1993, when the airline was still known as Air Nevada, a Cessna 402C with registration N818AN crashed after takeoff from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada. The flight was destined for the Grand Canyon, but after liftoff the pilot advised the air traffic controller that the baggage door was open and requested a go around. The pilot and both passengers on board were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of the accident to be the pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering in the traffic pattern, with the pilot's failure to assure that the nose baggage compartment door was secured as an additional factor.^[8]

[edit] Incidents with Airport Security

After several incidents in 2005, Pacific Wings has accused the security firm Wackenhut of harassment for an unspecified reason.

The first known recorded incident reported in the media happened in October 2005, which involved the owner of Pacific Wings, James Greg Kahlstorf, after he and one of his employees accused Wackenhut Security Guards of assault. Kahlstorf and the employee were then arrested and turned over to police due to an unspecified scuffle. Kahlstorf and the employee suffered some bruising and black eyes due to the event.^[9]

On November 14, 2005, after Pacific Wings armed employees with video cameras, one employee got into a verbal argument with another Wackenhut Security Guard, over a loading zone dispute. On the videotape clip shown in local media, the guard is shown making comments that could be construed as a terroristic threat. The guard was later banned from working on any state property or facility.^[10]