[ OUR OPINION ]
U.S. seaports need
more federal fundsMANY improvements in security have been made at Honolulu Harbor and the nation's other seaports since the terrorist attacks more than a year ago, but the ports remain vulnerable. Harbor authorities are receiving only a fraction of what they need from the federal government to provide adequate security. Hawaii's congressional delegation should join Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in assuring proper funding of efforts to block terrorism by sea.
THE ISSUE Honolulu Harbor and others are getting less than the amount of funding they want to increase security against terrorism.
Feinstein plans to introduce legislation next month to significantly upgrade seaport security. Her proposal would require customs agents to be stationed at foreign ports to check cargo bound for the United States and require foreign shippers to itemize their cargo at least 24 hours before departure. It also would include a plan for profiling high-risk containers and require radiation-detection equipment to be issued to each inspector.
The FBI received reports earlier this year that al-Qaida terrorists may be making plans to hide in merchant ships traveling from a Middle Eastern port to Southern California. Catalina Island has been mentioned as a possible destination for about 40 al-Qaida terrorists, said Feinstein. Two months ago, Italian authorities found an Egyptian man suspected of having ties to al-Qaida in a Canada-bound container. His luggage included false identification, airport maps, a computer, a satellite phone and lots of cash.
Hawaii asked for $4 million in federal funds in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks but in June received only $650,000 of the $73 million in recent federal funding to upgrade security. Congress approved an additional $125 million for port security grants earlier this month but has not decided upon its distribution. The assistance received thus far has enabled the Coast Guard to improve inspections to spot potential threats at Honolulu Harbor.
Most of the foreign shipments destined for Hawaii enter the United States on the West Coast, where they undergo Coast Guard and customs inspections. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which handle 43 percent of the nation's container cargo, received only $6.7 million to upgrade security. If California is vulnerable, so is Hawaii.
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Airlines need review
of booking practicesCATCHING a flight to a neighbor island is not as easy as it once was. The two competing airlines have various explanations for this, but neither seems willing to concede that their scheduling and booking practices could be part of the problem. Governor Lingle has urged the airlines to review the way they have collaborated since being granted antitrust immunity. The public deserves a full explanation.
THE ISSUE Governor Lingle has urged airlines to add interisland flights to address passenger inconveniences.
Both Aloha and Hawaiian airlines have experienced difficulties because of the downturn in air travel since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The Air Transportation Stabilization Board this week approved a $40.5 million loan guarantee for Aloha's $45 million loan from Citibank to allow it to improve operations and buy new equipment. Concessions made by unions will allow Aloha to cut labor costs by $35 million over three years.
Hawaiian has not asked for federal financial support, but it also has been hit hard in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks. That is why the government allowed the two airlines to scale back and coordinate flight schedules. Lingle thinks the airlines went too far, based partly on the problems that Cabinet nominees have had booking flights to Oahu from neighbor islands.
"They can add flights, and we think they need to do this," Lingle said. She said her concerns extend to "not just the convenience of traveling but the economic impact of business people going to and from the neighbor islands."
Hawaiian spokesman Keoni Wagner says additional flights have been added to the Hilo-Oahu route this month but adherence to "the supply-and-demand equation" is failing to turn a profit. "No matter how full we can get our flights," he says, "they're not profitable, but we're adding flights nonetheless."
While the local airlines point out that the price of flights between islands is less than all flights of similar distance on the mainland, the notion that they lose money on fully booked flights is hard for the public to understand. Both airlines say it is caused by passengers booking flights on both airlines but showing up for only one. Double-booking is a habit developed by passengers nervous about frequent flight cancellations of recent years. The flying public, supporting the airlines with both its personal funds and federal tax dollars, deserves to get its money's worth.
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Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, Publisher
Frank Bridgewater, Editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, Assistant Editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, Assistant Editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.comMary Poole, Editorial Page Editor, 529-4748; mpoole@starbulletin.com
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