Hawaiian Vacations keeps helping Alaskans thaw

When the weather gets bad in Alaska, the phones at Hawaiian Vacations ring off the hook, said Kerri Blount, the company's training coordinator

"If we have a really bad weather day, we usually get a lot of phone calls," she said. "In the summer if we have a string of really nice weather days

For nearly 20 years, Alaskans have called Hawaiian Vacations seeking to escape the state's cold and gray winter days to thaw out in one of America's favorite, eternally tropical climes.

And with the explosion of the Internet, the travel company is working to expand its reach beyond the two states, delving into the Continental U.S. and international markets.

John Hardwick started the company in 1982 as an Alaska rental agency for condominium owners in Hawaii. Three years later, the company began reselling seats it had purchased from carriers offering nonstop flights between Anchorage and Honolulu, and by 1991 Hawaiian Vacations had chartered its first plane between the two cities.