Hotmail
Crowded planes, higher fares on Hawaii routes
Interisland fare changes: too early to tell
One of the most bitter domestic airline feuds in recent memory is what Aloha blames in part for its downfall. Aloha rival go! is still flying, and, according to parent company Mesa, which usually contracts with other airlines to operate short-haul services on smaller planes, it has almost doubled capacity since the shutdown.
While go!'s arrival on the scene in 2006 — days after Aloha emerged from its previous bankruptcy — did bring the islands closer together, with its $19 fare sales and breezy accessibility (a recent flight will be remembered for having the most cheerful and friendly cabin crew you could ever hope to fly with), it did so at a loss, and to the detriment of Aloha. Mesa Air Group CEO Jonathan Ornstein famously said that he could fly empty planes and cover it with profits from elsewhere in Mesa's sprawling network.
Ornstein's remarks grated on Hawaiians, many with connections to people working at the competing "hometown" airlines. However, despite insistent claims that go! was an unwanted outsider and "had no Aloha," it continues to fly, now with ever-so-slightly-higher prices. A ticket for May travel from Honolulu to Kona purchased more than 15 days in advance cost $55; the same ticket for June travel was showing for $59 each way.
Take the waters
The strife in the air coincides with the state's troubled waters. Last year's almost-failed effort to give Hawaii its first high-speed ferry service is today just limping along. After launching the Hawaii SuperFerry from Honolulu to the Maui port of Kahului and Kauai's Lihue, protests and other actions led to cancellation of the Kauai service and left the company operating with just one route (Maui-Honolulu), once a day.
After unexpected dry-dockings and numerous stops and starts on a second daily Maui service — not to mention an uncertain timetable for its return to Kauai — the future of the SuperFerry looks murky. The second daily Maui departure has been inaugurated, but a new CEO says the people of Kauai can decide whether or not they want the service. (He probably shouldn't worry about keeping the phone lines free.)
But wait, there's more
It doesn't take a financial analyst to recognize that Hawaii might still be over-served, at least when you look at the Oahu-Maui route. There are now two daily ferry departures, plus dozens of daily flights to Kahului (and even some to tiny Kapalua and Hana) by various airlines. People may be flying, or taking the boat, but are they paying enough to keep the airlines in the air?
According to the Department of Transportation, Maui's Kahului — along with three other Hawaiian airports — featured the lowest average round-trip fares in the United States last year. It used to be even cheaper to get there. In a separate report on the change in average airfare from 1995 to the present, Kahului rings in at the third-most-changed, from an average round-trip fare in 1995 of $50 to a current fare of $183. Whether the increase is enough, time will tell.
- Discuss Story On Newsvine
-
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh - Instant Message
MORE FROM NEWS |
 News Section Front |
| Add News headlines to your news reader: |
Resource guide