The sudden shutdown of two airlines in less than a week will result in fewer West Coast passengers traveling to Hawaii.

Aloha Airlines last flight was March 31st after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy eleven days earlier. ATA canceled all of its flights Thursday after filing for federal bankruptcy protection a day earlier in Indianapolis.

Aviation analyst Peter Forman said it could take several months before other carriers fill the void left by the departure of Aloha and ATA.

“We have plenty of players in the Hawaii to Mainland market and (they) will respond and take care of this,” said Forman. “In the meantime, Hawaii's going to be feeling the pinch.”

The affect on Hawaii’s economy could be more like a body blow if high fuel prices scare away airlines from taking up the airlift capacity once filled by Aloha and ATA.

“The profit margin has to increase a little bit to see a real enthusiastic response by the other airlines to come in and meet the need now,” said Forman. “Hawaiian (Airlines) certainly would respond quickly but one of their 767's, which would be perfect for this (Mainland) market has been recruited for the inter-island market.”

Rex Johnson, the President of the Hawaii Tourism Authority said some of the 9,600 passengers stranded in Hawaii by ATA’s abrupt closure are blaming the state for their troubles. He said the perception that Hawaii is at fault could leave a black mark on the state’s number one industry.

“Word of mouth (and) satisfied customers is where you make it or break it,” said Johnson. “All the marketing and all of the attractiveness of Hawaii could just be blown out the window if you get into positions of where, ‘gee we went to Hawaii, our airline went away and we can't get home.’”

According to the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, nearly 3.2 million West Coast passengers traveled to Hawaii last year, spending an average $158 per day and pumping half a billion dollars into Hawaii’s economy.

The number of West Coat arrivals was more than double the 1.3 million visitors who came to Hawaii from Japan in 2007. Japanese tourists spent an average of $271 per day, or a total of $352 million for all of last year.

“West Coast numbers are up as Japan numbers have gone down,” said Johnson. “(The shutdown of ATA and Aloha) is going to put a crimp in West Coast numbers in the short haul.”

Forman said even if other air carriers take over the West Coast airlift capacity once handled by Aloha and ATA, less competition and high fuel prices will result in more costly tickets. “Airline tickets are going up period plain and simple, whether the capacity is remedied or not,” he said.

Andrew may be reached at apereira@khon2.com or ph. 591-4263.