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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, January 5, 2003

Big Island feeling loss of interisland flights

By Kelly Yamanouchi
Advertiser Staff Writer

As Hawai'i's major airlines cut operating costs to stay aloft, residents and visitors alike are having to adjust to the diminished options that have become the new reality of interisland travel.

The days of hopping on a flight to the Neighbor Islands at the drop of a hat, as a New Yorker might jump on an Amtrak, are fading as the troubled carriers struggle to regain solid profitability. Big Island residents especially say the impact of flight cuts is hitting Hilo harder than anywhere else.

The latest changes follow a federal antitrust agreement approved in September that allows Hawaiian and Aloha airlines to coordinate seat capacity on some interisland routes.

They began by trimming interisland flights in December, drawing complaints from travelers accustomed to flying whenever it pleased them.

Last week, the airlines announced they would no longer sell their popular interisland coupons, effective tomorrow, and issue only electronic tickets for interisland and Mainland flights. If travelers prefer a paper ticket, it will cost them $25.

The airlines said cuts in flights, the demise of the coupon programs and move to electronic ticketing would allow them to manage more accurately the number of seats on each flight. They said the adjustments are necessary to ensure the interisland business remains viable, and that travelers will need to book ahead to get the best fares.

Airline officials aren't saying what else may be in store for travelers as the carriers continue to pare costs, but the savings efforts clearly are not over.

"There's all kinds of things that may happen," said Rex Johnson, executive director of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. "You may not see first-class lounges, you may not see free beverages — those kinds of things."

But will doing away with such amenities have an impact on service-conscious travelers?

"It could have a little bit of effect when you don't have someone running up the aisle saying, 'Would you like to have a glass of guava juice?' " Johnson said.

Nationwide, many forecast an airline industry without frills. An experiment by America West to sell meals on board is being watched closely by competitors.

Uneven impact

Not all travelers are sharing equally the pain of the carriers' cutbacks, according to some observers. Aloha Airlines offered about 10 flights a day from Hilo to Honolulu in July, now cut to about 9. As of December, Hawaiian Airlines had cut its daily flights from Hilo to Honolulu to 6, down from 9 in August.

Hawaiian officials said flights between Honolulu and the Big Island are not profitable even if completely full, because the airplanes travel longer distances than on other interisland routes for the same price.

Big Island Mayor Harry Kim is concerned the flight cuts will have an adverse impact on residents and the island's economy.

Hawaiian officials have told Kim they feel an obligation to continue serving the island, although Big Island flights don't make money.

"I was very disappointed, very disturbed, when I heard that every flight to Hilo is a charity. Something is not right here," Kim said. "The present situation, to be quite frank, is totally unacceptable to people on this island. I think this will hurt Hawai'i's economy in many, many ways that we are not even aware of yet."

State Sen. Lorraine Inouye, D-1st (Hamakua, S. Hilo), thinks the airlines should consider adding more flights, having reaped savings from ending the coupon programs.

"Something has to give," Inouye said. "Clearly it's about economic survival, particularly for Hilo."

The Hawaii Naniloa Resort in Hilo suffered a 10 percent decline in business since early November, according to general manager Lei Andrade. The hotel fields calls every day from tourists canceling their reservations because they can't get flights to Hilo, he said.

"The whole economy on the Big Island is based on what goes on in the Neighbor Island (flights) market," said Carlton Kramer, vice president of sales for Hilo Hattie, which he said had lost business in Hilo.

Tour operator Polynesian Adventures' one-day tour business also has been adversely affected. "We just can't get people from one place to another," said president Michael Carr.

"I think there's a longer-term, heavy-duty impact that's almost the sense of being marooned," said Paula Helfrich, president of the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board Inc.

Perhaps those most personally affected by the interisland flight cuts are medical patients who need to travel to Honolulu for treatment.

Julie Riley, a 70-year-old cancer patient who lives in Hilo, said she tried for two weeks to get a flight to Honolulu and had to cancel two appointments at The Queen's Medical Center in the process. She is worried she won't be able to get a flight for another surgery coming up.

Cecilia Shikuwa runs the Hawai'i AIDS clinical research program out of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, which flies about 25 people to Honolulu each month for trials. Last year, the program bought $35,000 of interisland flight coupons, but since November the patients have had difficulty getting flights.

"It really is becoming a major problem for us," Shikuwa said. "Just because you live on the outer islands, you shouldn't have to compromise medical care or ... access to new treatments."

John Ray, president of the Big Island Business Council, said he wanted to meet with Hawaiian and Aloha officials about ways to help. Ray said he worries that Big Island residents might find it difficult to attend legislative hearings because of the reduction in flights.

Extra service

Meanwhile, interisland carrier Pacific Wings is applying to the state Department of Transportation to start flights on small aircraft from Kahului, Maui, to Hilo that would add 18 seats daily.

"We're convinced the need is real," said Pacific Wings president Greg Kahlstorf. But the extra service may not provide enough capacity and destination choices for restive Big Island residents and businesses.

Johnson of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority warned that challenges do not end at the Big Island. While Hilo faces many problems, "At the end of the day, that story will occur every place," he said. "After all of this kind of washes through the system, I would expect that the same thing will happen at almost every Neighbor Island destination."

Gov. Linda Lingle has expressed concern over fewer flights to the Neighbor Islands, saying the cuts are creating an economic problem for businesses that depend on regular interisland travel.

Officials from both airlines said they had explained their rationale for flight cuts to Lingle's staff, but there had been no progress to report, said Lingle spokesman Russell Pang.

These first months will be an important test of whether the coordination between the two airlines works, and residents and the tourism industry will respond well to the changes. So far, the airlines have stood fast on the reduced schedules.

"We do not believe there is a shortage of seats in the interisland market," said Aloha spokesman Stu Glauberman. He said the problem is double-booking, but that situation might improve after the holidays.

Beyond winter, more changes are in the wings as the airlines continue to struggle financially.

"This is now a way of life in the airlines business, and an ongoing process," Wagner said. For the interisland business in particular, he said, "we are trying desperately to make these services economically sustainable, and we're not there yet."

Reach Kelly Yamanouchi at 535-2470, or at kyamanouchi@honoluluadvertiser.com.