I found a more complete history of Aloha than I'd seen elsewhere in a Star-Bulletin article from 2004, here:
http://starbulletin.com/2004/12/31/news/story1.html (Scroll down past the initial article about the 2004 bankruptcy filing to get to the history.)
I'll paste in the text of the article below. It fills in some of the gaps in Aloha's history that we were discussing. I'd forgotten that there had been at least three attempts by Aloha to acquire or merge with Hawaiian Airlines over the years.
--- Article below (c) 2004, Honolulu Star-Bulletin ---
When Trans-Pacific Airlines made its maiden flight in 1946, it was appropriately scheduled on an Aloha Friday.
That Honolulu-to-Hilo DC-3 flight was the first of thousands for the airline, which would formally change its name to Aloha Airlines in 1958.
Aloha, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization yesterday, has a long history of providing affordable and reliable flights to the neighbor islands for local residents.
It also boasts a long track record of local ownership.
The airline was founded by local publishing executive Ruddy Tongg as an upstart challenger to Hawaiian Airlines. Tongg's original investors included local real estate investor Hung Wo Ching, according to Bill Wood's book "50 Years of Aloha."
The airline business took off in 1959 with the advent of jet service to the islands.
In the early 1970s, the airline nearly merged with rival Hawaiian Airlines before the deal was scuttled at the last minute.
In 1986, Ching, then Aloha's chairman, and local developer Sheridan Ing fought off a takeover attempt from Dallas-based CNS Partners by taking the company private.
The company continues to be controlled by members of the Ing and Ching families.
In 2000, Aloha launched its first mainland routes with flights between Honolulu and Oakland, Calif. The airline now operates 42 weekly mainland flights.
A year later -- and months after the Sept. 11, 2001, tragedy -- Aloha and rival Hawaiian discussed another merger. The deal, which was initiated by Dallas-based TurnWorks Inc., later fell apart with both sides pointing fingers at each other.
55 years of service
Here's a brief history of Aloha Airlines:
1949: Local publisher Ruddy Tongg organizes the hui Trans-Pacific Airlines as a charter carrier.
1958: Real estate developer Hung Wo Ching buys a 10 percent stake in the nearly bankrupt Trans-Pacific Airlines, renaming it Aloha Airlines. Ching serves as chairman of the publicly held company's board from the mid-1960s until he converts it to a private company in 1987.
1969: Begins flying Boeing 737 jets, replacing propeller-driven airplanes.
1970: Merger plan with Hawaiian Airlines falls through.
1986: Successfully fights off takeover attempt from Dallas-based CNS Partners, then goes private.
1988: Aloha and Hawaiian halt talks of a merger, in which Aloha expressed interest in acquiring Hawaiian.
1998: Aloha reduces its daily schedule by 10 flights to 168 interisland trips and announces 5 percent reductions in its work force even as its privately owned parent, Aloha Airgroup Inc., reports its net profit jumped to $4.9 million from $1 million for the first nine months of the year.
2000: Launches first mainland flights, with service from Honolulu to Oakland, Calif.
2001: Attempted merger with Hawaiian. Aloha cuts interisland flights by 25 percent and lays off 250 workers. At the same time, the airlines receive their first multimillion-dollar installments from a federal aid package for airlines. In November the competing airlines are granted an antitrust exemption that lets them coordinate schedules.
2002: Merger attempt with Hawaiian Airlines fails.
2003: Hawaiian files for bankruptcy.
2004: Aloha files for bankruptcy.
