Less than two weeks after all three of Hawai'i's major airlines raised one-way fares by $10, Aloha Airlines said it has increased its standard ticket price on O'ahu to Big Island flights by $10, to $59.

Hawaiian Airlines went the other direction, saying it was cutting its base fare on interisland flights to $42 from $49. The upstart go! airlines said it was standing pat with fares at $49.

Aloha, the state's No. 2 airline, cited rising fuel costs for the price hike. The carrier said it is only raising fares on flights to Kona and Hilo from Honolulu. It is not raising prices on other interisland flights.

Hawaiian said it cut its price in response to a similar reduction by go! But go! said the $42 fare was an error and it was in the process of returning its base fare to $49.

Aloha's lowest fares on Honolulu to Maui and Kaua'i flights will remain at $49.

Aloha noted that the cost of aviation fuel has tripled from around 90 cents a gallon in 2004 to around $3 a gallon today.

"The airlines have taken a beating and now they are trying to reach the break-even point," said Peter Forman, local aviation industry historian.

Thom Nulty, Aloha's senior vice president for marketing and sales, said in a news release, "Car owners can appreciate the impact that a tripling of gas prices would have on commuting costs, and they know it takes a lot more gas to drive 200 miles than 100 miles."

EARLIER CUTS PULLED

This is not the first time that Aloha has tried to raise interisland fares. In November, the carrier tried to raise fares by $5 and then by $10 but ended up pulling those fares after competitors declined to match.

But earlier this month, go! raised its standard $39 fares by $10 after a federal bankruptcy judge ordered the company's parent, Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group, to pay Hawaiian Airlines $80 million for misusing confidential business information.

Both Aloha and Hawaiian matched that fare increase.

It was go! that launched the interisland fare war when it opened for business in June 2006 with fares starting at $39. Prior to go!'s entry, interisland fares were in the $70 to $90 range.

BOTTOM LINES HURTING

The low fares increased passenger traffic between O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands but wreaked havoc on the finances of all three airlines.

Since go!'s launch, all three airlines have lost more than $80 million combined.

The $49 and $59 fares are close to the break-even point for the local airlines.

A recent study commissioned by Aloha concluded that Hawai'i's carriers lose money anytime fares dip below $50.

Forman, who wrote a history of Hawai'i's airline business titled "Wings of Paradise," said it's too early to say the fare war is over.

"This is like a volcano — the low fares can come back anytime," Forman said.

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.