HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

57

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

strongly urging the United States Congress to enact federal legislation to allow Hawaii to regulate air carriers operating between islands in the State UNDER Chapter 261C, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

 

 

WHEREAS, as an island state where the counties are separated by many miles of open ocean, the State of Hawaii is critically and uniquely dependent upon air transportation services as the only efficient way to transport passengers, both residents and visitors alike, between the islands of the State; and

WHEREAS, today, many residents commute daily between islands by air and are thus highly dependent for their livelihood on convenient, reliable, safe, and affordable air transportation services; and

WHEREAS, air transportation is also the only way to move many locally produced goods, including newspapers, produce, and other perishable items, to their ultimate island destinations for sale in a timely manner; and

WHEREAS, for approximately the last fifty years, interisland air transportation in Hawaii has been provided largely by two carriers that exist today as Aloha Airgroup, Inc., parent company of Aloha Airlines and Aloha Island Air ("Aloha"), and Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. ("Hawaiian"), who have vigorously competed against each other; and

WHEREAS, on December 19, 2001, Aloha and Hawaiian announced that they would be merging into a single airline to be owned under a new holding company to be called Aloha Holdings, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, this body is concerned that the proposed merger of Aloha and Hawaiian will eliminate competition for interisland air transportation services and create the potential for a monopolistic market that could dictate fee structure, flight schedules, and levels of service will adversely affect Hawaii's already high cost of living; and

WHEREAS, concern over the ability of a single air carrier to dominate intrastate air traffic prompted the Legislature to enact Act 332, Session Laws of Hawaii 1993 ("Act 332"), and codified as Chapter 261C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which established an Air Carrier Commission to regulate interisland air travel, contingent upon federal enabling legislation permitting such a scheme; and

WHEREAS, the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 preempts states from regulating interstate air transportation and air transport between points within a state, including between two islands in Hawaii, is also considered interstate air transport by virtue of the air carriers' receiving certification to operate such services from the United States Department of Transportation; and

WHEREAS, Act 332, or Chapter 261C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, only takes effect upon the enactment of federal legislation permitting Hawaii to regulate air carriers under Chapter 261C, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, this body finds that in light of the dramatic downturn in air travel following the tragic events of September 11 and the subsequent global economic slowdown, the proposed merger of Aloha and Hawaiian again raises the need for federal legislation to allow Act 332, Session Laws of Hawaii 1993, as codified in Chapter 261C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to take effect; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, that this body strongly urges the United States Congress to enact federal legislation to allow Hawaii to regulate air carriers operating between islands in the State through the implementation of Act 332, Session Laws of Hawaii 1993, as codified in Chapter 261C, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the United States Secretary of Transportation, the Governor, and to the members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Hawaii Regulation of Air Carriers; Federal Legislation; Monopoly