That means kamaaina travelers can find seats on Aloha flights for $35 while Hawaiian's equivalent fare, which went into effect over the weekend, is $39.

That is for tickets purchased at least the day before travel, by travelers who can show a Hawaii driver's license or other local identification. In addition, only a select number of seats on certain flights are available at that price, Aloha said.

Aloha said it is raising other fares but is not changing the walk-up fare for out-of-state travelers. Hawaiian raised all of its fares, including Hawaii-mainland prices, an average of 10 percent on Friday. Both airlines say fuel costs have soared.

"While we do need to adjust some of our fares to compensate for skyrocketing jet fuel costs, our lowest kamaaina fare and our visitor fare will not go up," said Glenn Zander, Aloha's president and chief executive officer.

That means fares for those residents who must have a particular flight or need to travel right away will be higher. Zander said that state residents willing to plan ahead will still be able to get $35 tickets.

Hawaiian said it was evaluating Aloha's decision not to increase the lowest fare, but had made no decision late this morning on whether it would keep its $4 increase. The airline said, however, it will remain competitive.

Smaller competitor Mahalo Air, which has a kamaaina fare of $35, said it also was evaluating the situation.

Hawaii's two big interisland carriers usually end up matching each other's fares to stay competitive, with Mahalo running a little below the others. In one case, back in 1989, Aloha decided not to match a $4 increase at Hawaiian, who then had to pull back.