Hawaii’s Frustrated Fliers Skipping the Island Hop

HONOLULU -- For 20 years, John Wert boarded an inter- island flight and headed to Kauai for a week’s vacation at his timeshare.

Not this year. Frustrated with the price of airline tickets within his own state, the high school science teacher instead will fly thousands of miles to the mainland.

“Rather than decrease fares to try and build riders up and fill airplanes, they’ve cut back flights, increased fares and generally made it inconvenient as hell,” said Wert, of Mililani on Oahu. “Eventually what you’re going to do is drive everybody out.”

One of the great advantages of living in the islands -- cheap trips to other islands -- is no longer such an advantage. As inter-island fares rise, family reunions typically held on the islands are moving to the mainland, people are skipping off-island funerals, and golf games are being played closer to home.

For now, Aloha Air Group Inc. and Hawaiian Holdings Inc.’s Hawaiian Airlines -- the state’s two major inter-island operators -- are confident that locals will keep flying. But inter-island travel has changed significantly from just two years ago, when it was still possible to fly round trip between islands for less than $100.

Aloha and Hawaiian raised inter-island fares in March and again on June 1. Fares range from $144 for the lowest-priced round-trip ticket to $212 for last-minute travel on the most popular flights.

And though they are in the air for just 20 to 60 minutes, inter- island travelers go through the same security screening as passengers heading to the mainland or foreign points. Some travelers can find themselves waiting for an hour in a line that snakes through the terminal.

What’s left is an often furious resident population in Hawaii.

“I’d like to give the business to Hawaii, but I want to get the best price for myself,” said Janice Kelii, a retired customer service representative who travels more to Las Vegas than to the outer islands. “You pay more now, and your service is still the same.”

“It’s too much for me,” said Sam Lefotu, a retired state worker who also has opted for Las Vegas trips made cheaper by package deals. “I waste my money if I go to the neighbor islands.”

“For a little more, you can go to the mainland. To me, that’s a rip-off,” said Clint Kanahele, a bus driver in Honolulu, of inter-island fares.

A spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines, Keoni Wagner, said short-leg flights -- inter-island trips of 50 to 200 miles -- cost the airline far more per mile than 2,000-mile-plus West Coast trips because “they are very different operations.”

The Hawaii carriers offer some flights to the West Coast or even Las Vegas for less than $350. Other airlines have advertised fares for even less.

Citing competitive reasons, Hawaiian would not reveal the cost-per-mile difference among its flights. But Wagner says there are certain fixed costs, whatever the length of the flight, that constitute a larger percentage of the price on inter-island trips.

The highest cost, for crew labor, is dictated in part by Federal Aviation Administration safety regulations. Equipment, fuel costs and landing fees are spread among fewer passengers than on a typical mainland flight.

Aloha, which recently hired an executive to analyze pricing, declined to respond to questions on ticket prices.

The airlines also are trying to make up for years of economic trouble. Hawaiian, while it continues normal operations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, reporting losses of $58.2 million in 2002. Privately held Aloha reported a $23.5-million loss last year, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

“The consumer locally has been hit both ways, with higher costs and more restrictive options for travel,” said Danny Casey, president of the Hawaii chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents.

Comparative statistics on the number of Hawaii residents traveling within the state are unavailable. But state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism numbers do show an increase in Hawaii residents flying to mainland and international destinations.

The number of locals making such trips reached a peak of slightly more than 1 million in 2000. In 2001, the last year for which statistics are available, the figure fell to 982,508.

Some locals have no choice but to fly, and to pay more.

At the Hilo airport on a recent evening, Walter Love waited for a flight to his job in Honolulu, as he does three times a week. Love, a dispatcher for Air New Zealand, said his monthly Aloha commuter pass had risen from $724 in 1995 to $1,599 today, with two significant increases since Sept. 11, 2001.

Still, he said, “it’s the only option I’ve got.”