HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	105
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

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 the 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 60 years, inter-island air transportation in Hawaii has been provided largely by two carriers, Aloha Airlines ("Aloha"), and Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. ("Hawaiian"), who vigorously competed against each other; and

     WHEREAS, on December 19, 2001, due in large part to the tragic events of September 11, 2001, and the devastating effect these events had on the airline industry, Aloha and Hawaiian announced that they had agreed to merge into a single airline under a new holding company to be called Aloha Holdings, Inc.; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature was concerned that the proposed merger of Aloha and Hawaiian would eliminate competition for inter-island air transportation services and create the potential for a monopolistic market that would dictate fee structure, flight schedules, and levels of service, that would adversely affect Hawaii's already high cost of living; and

     WHEREAS, with the recent demise of Aloha, concerns regarding a single, dominant air carrier for Hawaii's inter-island transportation needs have once again been raised; and

     WHEREAS, although additional air carriers have entered Hawaii's inter-island market including go! Airlines, Mokulele Air, Pacific Wings, and Aloha Island Air, these carriers do not currently have the lift capacity to adequately address Hawaii's inter-island transportation needs; and

     WHEREAS, concerns over the ability of a single air carrier to dominate intrastate air traffic is not new to the Legislature, as the same fears prompted the Legislature to enact Act 332, Session Laws of Hawaii 1993 ("Act 332"), which was codified as Chapter 261C, Hawaii Revised Statutes, which established an Air Carrier Commission to regulate inter-island 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, which transport is 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, only enactment of federal legislation will permit Hawaii to regulate inter-island air carriers; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that in light of the recent events regarding the bankruptcy and closing of passenger service of Hawaii's second largest inter-island carrier, Aloha, the need again arises for federal legislation to be enacted to allow Hawaii to regulate inter-island air carriers; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature 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 state regulatory statutes; and

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

Report Title: 

Hawaii Regulation of Air Carriers; Federal Legislation; Monopoly