Case criticizes
Hawaiian flight
cutbacks

He is concerned that reduced service
to Hilo is hurting the public

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By Craig Gima
cgima@starbulletin.com

The difficulty of getting a reservation on interisland flights, especially between Hilo and Honolulu, has prompted U.S. Rep. Ed Case to ask Hawaiian Airlines why it has reduced flights in December, when many people travel to be with family for the holidays.

In a letter to the airline on Thursday, Case said his staff has learned that Hawaiian offered nine flights a day between Hilo and Honolulu in September but has only six flights a day in December.

In a press release, Case said, "I know that our interisland airlines are struggling to both serve the public and to maintain financial viability, but I am asking that an extra effort be made by Hawaiian in its Hilo service."

Case said he has been told that Aloha Airlines' flights between Honolulu and Hilo have remained steady or increased.

Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Keoni Wagner said because Hilo is more than twice the distance from Honolulu as any other interisland destination and because the fares are all the same, Hawaiian cannot make money on the route even though the plans are fully booked.

"We're down to six flights a day, but every one of those flights loses money," he said.

Travel agent Carrie Fernandez, of Kobayashi Travel in Hilo, said December flights between Hilo and Honolulu began selling out in October.

"I had one customer, her mother-in-law was medevacked to Oahu, she needed to get there and there was just no flights," Fernandez said. The woman had to fly standby, and it took two days for her to get to Oahu, she said.

Fernandez said she has tried to book flights for people who want to return to the Big Island to see family for the holidays, but while they can get a flight to Oahu, they cannot get a connecting flight to Hilo.

"We can't take a freeway or drive or take an Amtrak or take a ferry. We need to fly. I don't think they (the airlines) are seeing it," Kobayashi said. "They're reducing flights and they're making it very expensive. People have no choice."

Wagner said the airline is "very sensitive to the difficulties that these changes are producing, and I have no doubt that there will be adjustments going forward. And hopefully we will eventually reach some kind of equilibrium."