Fare war reduces prices for isle travel
Round-trip prices for interisland fares dip below $90
Not since the days of flight coupons have interisland air fares been this low, and consumers are benefiting from a fare war that has pushed round-trip prices below $90.
The catch is that the fares are only good on the first early-morning flight from Honolulu and the last evening flight back from the neighbor islands.
Still, the response has been "extremely good," said Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Patrick Dugan.
Aloha Airlines spokesman Stu Glauberman said, "The 39.50 fares have proven very popular. People are willing to get up early or stay out late on neighbor islands."
"If it's cheap like this, I'm coming every other weekend," said Maui resident Thomas Takeshita, 28, whose girlfriend is finishing school on Oahu in May.
Aloha Airlines had initially offered free return trips on interisland travel to AlohaPass members flying on the first flights out of Honolulu to Kona, Hilo, Kahului or Lihue and last flights in to Honolulu from those locations.
Glauberman explained Aloha was trying to stimulate the early and late flights, which are not as popular.
Hawaiian Airlines swung back with a $38.25 fare in a full-page ad. The Hawaiian deal gave customers the option of using the discount for one leg of a trip. But the Hawaiian rate does not include a $2.50 security fee, bringing the total to $40.75.
Aloha matched the concept of a one-way fare on those designated flights and also allowed them to be combined with other fares. Their $39.50 discounted rate includes all fees and taxes, said Glauberman.
Both fares only apply to online bookings. The Hawaiian Airlines Web site says fares booked by phone could be slightly higher. The Aloha rate applies only to online reservations; a $10 fee is added for phone reservations.
Both airlines are offering the special rates through Dec. 31 with no blackout periods. However, a check of Aloha's Web site yesterday showed the fare was not available or was sold out leaving on Thanksgiving morning and returning on Sunday. Hawaiian's Web sites showed the fare was not available to and from Hilo, but it was still available to other islands and on other dates during the weekend.
Frequent flier Wendy Kanamori, 51, lives on Maui but often visits relatives on Oahu, where she is from originally.
"It's great," said Kanamori, who arrived on the last Aloha flight from Maui. "I'll take the last flight out, but I won't ever take the first flight in. That's too early."
Kanamori was pleased the airline allowed for some flexibility and did not require her to purchase both the first flight out and last flight in to Honolulu to take advantage of the discounted rate.
She will continue to fly a lot, but now "I don't have to use all my Aloha miles to travel," she said.
But not everyone was aware of the specials. "What low rate?" asked Rick Ige, 21, who arrived in Honolulu on the last Aloha flight from Kahului with his wife, Rachel, 19.
The couple moved to Oahu from Maui on Friday. Despite flying on the last flight, they said they bought tickets by phone Friday at a $92.09 price, $104.70 with fees and taxes.
The Iges were upset they had not heard about the discounted rates, but smiled anyway, happy to be back in Honolulu.
