Executive Summary: Reaction to go! becoming Aloha; The Real Aloha; The Spirit of Aloha
News of the Unthinkable
Around lunch yesterday, I got news that was so unbelievable, I had to check to make sure it wasn’t April Fool’s Day. The “villainous” go! Airlines will rebrand itself and change its name to…Aloha Airlines! Wrong!, wrong!, wrong!!! As Ryan Ozawa said on his blog:
For people who still feel deep resentment against go! for killing Aloha, this development only adds more insult to injury. If the deal goes through, we’ll soon see “Aloha Airlines” in the sky. But it won’t be Aloha Airlines.
It’s a good thing I was eating Manago’s pork chops to comfort me. I was on vacation in Kona, but was so infuriated by this news that I cut my vacation plans short and came back to Honolulu to research and write this entry; I only had my iPhone in Kona, which wasn’t going to cut it for this kind of post.
The Real Aloha
I’m sorry, I just can’t let this go. And as I said in my inaugural post, I hadn’t flown on The Real Aloha since 2005, but it still bothers me.
To help you distinguish between the two Alohas, I will call the Aloha Airlines that Dr. Hung Wo Ching worked so tirelessly to succeed “The Real Aloha” and the go!/Mesa version “Mesa’s ‘Not Aloha’” – I think I like that, Mesa’s “Not Aloha” has a nice ring to it. Another recommendation was “Aloha Lite” and came from a friend.
Reaction on Twitter
I guess I and others have been so successful at generating negative buzz for go!/Mesa and created such a stigma that this was the only thing left for them to do. Here’s just a sampling of what was said on Twitter:
- “I don’t like the idea of go! usurping the Aloha name”
- “Go! Taking over the Aloha name! Please let that be a joke”
- “I can just hear it now, “Go! With Aloha”. Its a bold move but I wouldn’t Go! there.”
- “For marketing folks its all in a name but for customers in HI its about image. Aloha is something Go! won’t B able 2 morph into.”
But these said it best:
- “re: go! rebrand to Aloha Airlines. SNEEEEEEAKY.”
- “Are you kidding? Mesa wants to rebrand as Aloha?…This just smells.”
- “This just feels so wrong and extremely inappropriate.”
The Spirit of Aloha
What makes an airline great in the eyes of its passengers is not just it’s name, it’s profit and loss statements, stock price, or even its brand – that’s what makes its shareholders happy. No, to garner the deep loyalty and affinity that many of us had and have for the The Real Aloha, it takes the right kind of people. The kind who convey the true Spirit of Aloha (both the airline and the magnanimous value). It is the spirit with which those employees embody the values of their airline that got us all loyal to The Real Aloha to begin with.
I will never have any aloha for Mesa nor the soon-to-be-renamed go!, but maybe I should thank go!/Mesa for giving me something to react to – however harsh my reaction may be. My best posts seem to be inspired by severe negative reaction to something.
So to go!, Mesa, and Jonathan Ornstein: Please just go! – home, somewhere else, away, to he… – OK you get the point. While you will use the Aloha name, logo, and brand, you will never own the iconic image that is The Real Aloha and made us all react so sadly to the original news of its closure. You will never command the respect and loyalty the The Real Aloha did – because you just don’t get that Hawaii is a special place, with special people and values. Seeing the Aloha logo on a prop jet (not a real one) is an insult to The Real Aloha, its glory, and the fond memories so many in Hawaii and beyond have of The Real Aloha.
Now I’ll just have to encourage folks to fly Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, or Mokulele Airlines – airlines that embrace Hawaii and our values.
Mahalo!
[...] was some more interesting commentary (here, and here) about Go morphing into Aloha [...]
[...] for almost nine times as much as Mesa Air Group (NASDAQ: MESA), parent company of go! Airlines and The Real Aloha usurper, soon to be “Not Aloha” or “No Aloha” or “Aole Aloha” [...]
[...] Judge King loved The Real Aloha as much as I did. Or maybe my post convinced him? Either way, yes, Your Honor, it is just about [...]
[...] Mention: A tie. First, laurelle commenting on my blog calling go! “No Aloha Airlines.” Second, Dave commenting on the Hawaii Blog: Following [...]
[...] realize the irony of me writing this post despite my intolerance toward Mesa/go! Airlines, but that’s a whole different story – and a challenge I guess I need to work on as a flawed [...]
[...] forget about the contest! Share your memories of The Real Aloha Airlines for your chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card. Contest ends December 18th at 6 [...]
[...] forget about the contest! Share your memories of The Real Aloha Airlines for your chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card. Contest ends December 18th at 6 [...]
[...] back $39 tickets. Looks like go!/Mesa may be run out of town using the same tactics they used on The Real Aloha Airlines. And what makes it even sweeter is that Mokulele employs many of The Real Aloha’s fomer [...]
[...] your memories of The Real Aloha Airlines for your chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card. Maybe it’s just that my readers [...]
[...] Even worse, remember the time I had to fly on go!? How about when they added insult to injury and tried to take over the Aloha brand? And finally, remember how their PR guy tried to “sell” that subterfuge to [...]
[...] http://capsun.org/2008/11/29/the-real-aloha-airlines/ [...]
[...] realize the irony of me writing this post despite my intolerance toward Mesa/go! Airlines, but that’s a whole different story – and a challenge I guess I need to work on as a flawed [...]
[...] U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lloyd King may order a re-bid of Aloha Airlines intellectual assets.It was utterly blasphemous to the legacy of Aloha Airlines that Mesa would end up with these assets. Especially since they were a huge reason why Aloha [...]
[...] Kona Blog and Ian Lind for the tips. Of course, the good news is that Mesa Air Group’s quest to takeover the Aloha name has been delayed, if not defeated. As I’ve said before, please fly Hawaiian Airlines, [...]
[...] Lloyd King’s ruling to invalidate the sale of Aloha’s name and logo. The legacy of The Real Aloha Airlines will not be defiled, despite Mesa Air Group’s go! Airlines’ efforts, at least for [...]
[...] coworker Blaine (@zztype on Twitter) knows how much I cherished The Real Aloha Airlines (http://capsun.org/2008/11/29/the-real-aloha-airlines/ ) that he just had to buy this Ping golf cap when he saw it. I’ll probably never wear it, in [...]
[...] coworker Blaine (@zztype on Twitter) knows how much I cherished The Real Aloha Airlines (http://capsun.org/2008/11/29/the-real-aloha-airlines/ ) that he just had to buy this Ping golf cap when he saw it. I’ll probably never wear it, in [...]
[...] coworker Blaine (@zztype on Twitter) knows how much I cherished The Real Aloha Airlines (http://capsun.org/2008/11/29/the-real-aloha-airlines/ ) that he just had to buy this Ping golf cap when he saw it. I’ll probably never wear it, in [...]
[...] coworker Blaine (@zztype on Twitter) knows how much I cherished The Real Aloha Airlines (http://capsun.org/2008/11/29/the-real-aloha-airlines/ ) that he just had to buy this Ping golf cap when he saw it. I’ll probably never wear it, in [...]