Dear Bad Economy, Please go! Home.

A sad dejavu moment in the islands today: the go! Airlines and Mokulele Airlines merger. While not nearly as tragic as the shutdown of the beloved Aloha Airlines, this merger is a consequence of the economy (specifically decreases in Hawaii’s tourism industry).

As with any merger, the new go! Mokulele Airlines will include newly branded planes, some transitional flight scheduling difficulties, more efficient operations, and the worst repercussion, job and pay cuts. Almost 40% of Mokulele employees were furloughed and will not be receiving a paycheck for one to three months, at the end of which only a possibility exists that they will be offered new jobs with go! Mokulele. Many of these employees formerly worked for Aloha airlines.

Remember the saying (or song lyrics, wherever you’ve heard it first): “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”? These are some words of wisdom I would like to offer the employees of Hawaii airlines. Some are beginning to realize this. Joe Kauweloa, former Aloha airlines and Mokulele airlines employee, said:

There’s two strikes against me already so I don’t want to go back to the airlines, I don’t think I want to go back to that field again.

Honestly, to work for Mokulele in the first place was a risk. Founded in only 1998, the fledgling company was trying to fight for a stake in an industry where even the big dogs were flailing. When Aloha airlines went out of business, it was a sensible story for former employees to go to airlines such as Hawaiian and United. And while finding a job wasn’t easy, especially for airlines workers who had no experience other than working for Aloha airlines, I would still question the choice to work at Mokulele.

With this merger, people like Kauweloa are rethinking the airline industry. It’s a smart move. Looking just at numbers, it’s easy to see that the tourist industry has dropped due to the economy and H1N1, and less people coming to the islands means less people flying in planes to, from, and between the islands. Since the economy is unpredictable, it’s hard to tell if we’ve reached the “bottoming out” point in the recession yet. A strong possibility exists that more pay and job cuts will be handed out at go! Mokulele.

Understandably, former airlines employees are looking for jobs with the same unbelievable benefits and pay that they received before. However, and not a comforting solution, the economy isn’t what it was when the airlines were booming. Some people will have to settle for less, cut back in their lifestyles, and make some sacrifices. With effort, diligent job searching, and an open mind, I believe that these people can find a job with more security and stability than what the airlines industry provides.

But to end this depressing post on a positive note, I would like to remind everyone affected by this merger, and who have been affected by the airlines industry, that all the kamaaina are behind you. We understand that these are tough times, especially for you, and we pray for you every day. We hope that you make wise decisions toward the future of yourself and your ohana. Everyone, hold out just a little longer–we will come out on the other side of this recession together. Shoots cuz, we go.