STAND. COM. REP. NO.1241

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2003

RE: S.C.R. No. 27

S.D. 1

 

 

Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 27 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE HAWAII CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO LOOK INTO EXPANDING THE ANTITRUST EXEMPTION TO ENABLE HAWAIIAN AIRLINES TO COORDINATE INDIVIDUAL ROUTE SCHEDULES"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request Hawaii's Congressional Delegation to look into expanding the antitrust exemption to enable Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines to coordinate individual route schedules.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Hawaiian Airlines. The Attorney General (AG) submitted testimony in opposition to this measure. Aloha Airlines provided comments.

Your Committee finds that Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines provide necessary inter-island air service. Since there is no ferry system in Hawaii, air transportation routes serve as the State's highways. Therefore, your Committee supports this measure in an effort to expand the temporary federal antitrust exemption so that our local air carriers can provide better and more frequent service.

Based on concerns raised by the AG, your Committee amended this measure by replacing its contents with contents supplied by the AG. As amended, this measure requests Hawaii's Congressional Delegation to ask the Department of Justice to review whether Hawaiian Airlines and Aloha Airlines can discuss flight scheduling to better accommodate passengers without running afoul of federal antitrust laws.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 27, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 27, S.D. 1.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Transportation, Military Affairs, and Government Operations,

____________________________

CAL KAWAMOTO, Chair