An American Samoa businessman who filed a complaint with the US Department of Transport against Hawaiian Airlines questions the rationale the airline has given for their new ticketing policy.
The airline no longer allows any pre-flight seat selection before check-in on flights between Pago Pago and Honolulu.
It is the only sector where this rule applies.
The airline says it will now weigh passengers at check-in before allocating seats in order to manage weight distribution across the cabin.*
The airline says it is a response to higher than projected fuel burn on the sector and is a safety issue.
The president of Haleck's Enterprises, Avamua David Haleck, says if it were a safety issue he would understand but it would mean passengers had been flying unsafe for years.
Avamua told Dominic Godfrey about his complaint.
*UPDATE: the airline says it will not weigh passengers at check-in but will still take charge of seat allocation to control weight distribution.
Transcript
AVAMUA DAVID HALECK: My recent complaint to the United States' Department of Transportation is basically for their [Hawaiian Airlines] latest policy of 'now you cannot book a seat online for only the American Samoa route, from Honolulu to American Samoa and from American Samoa back to Honolulu.'
If you're travelling beyond Honolulu you're able to book your seat without any problem. The weighing of passengers I understand was an exercise that Hawaiian Air conducted for their weight distributions.
Now, my question is, why all of a sudden that has become important? The aircraft hasn't changed in many many years so why has the weight distribution become important?
Hawaiian says it's fuel related. You know, we all understand that any business is going to look out to best save costs but at the same time, they are the only carrier serving American Samoa and it's been that way for a long time and they are the monopoly. So we're having to endure high airfares, and the weighing of passengers came a few months ago and now the latest is that you cannot book your seats online for travel.
DOMINIC GODFREY: So do you think in some way that they are abusing their monopolistic position?
ADH: I would think so and it really borders on discrimination because why are they only targeting the American Samoa route versus their other routes? They're not doing this to their other routes so it looks pretty glaring I would think.
DG: Do you think they're being a bit disingenuous with their rationale for doing so?
ADH: I would think so. If it was a safety issue I can really understand and of course Hawaiian is saying that yes it is a safety issue, but weight distribution... so have we been flying unsafe for all these years? And all of a sudden they now decide that doing the weight exercise and now the booking online.
When you're booking online, you want to book as a family to be seated together... my understanding is that I don't know how they're going to be able to adjust families not being able to sit together and get their weight distribution at the same time.
Hawaiian's Boeing 767-300's have been in operation on the American Samoa route since 2003.
Boeing says the aircraft is capable of full flights twice the distance of Honolulu to Pago Pago.
The US Transportation Department is investigating Mr Haleck's complaint.
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