Mahalo to Aloha Airlines

The news of Aloha Airlines’ closing also surprised me. This didn’t feel quite as personal, but Pipi and I have flown Aloha, so I was a little nostalgic.

It was the one time I’ve ever been to Hawaii, which felt luxurious enough. It was also one of the few times I’ve ever traveled in anything other than coach. First class on Aloha was sort of first-class lite, but it was a very enjoyable trip. The attendant in the front cabin was a particularly handsome and charming man who knelt down in the aisle next to our row and introduced himself, whispering like his name was a secret that he was only going to tell the two of us. Ice cream was served during one of the movies, and we got a bottomless container of macadamia nuts to share. (It wasn’t really bottomless, of course; our partner in crime just kept refilling it as fast as we could gobble.)

Later, Pipi and I confessed to each other that as we landed, we’d both been secretly wishing the flight were longer. That’s the only time in my adult life I’ve ever had that thought. So I wish all those Aloha employees well, too, especially our friend who was so generous with the macadamia nuts. I hope he lands on his feet.

And I hope my attempt to eat enough nuts to make up for the cost of the upgrade didn’t have anything to do with the airline’s demise.