Airline pitches
low faresMainline Airways offers $89 tickets
to Los Angeles, but the government
says it has no certificate to operate
A new airline is advertising one-way tickets between Honolulu and Los Angeles as low as $89 for daily service starting July 3.
The company, Mainline Airways, says it will use a single Boeing MD-10 aircraft seating 60 passengers in first class and 307 in coach.
The U.S. Department of Transportation, however, said Mainline has not filed for an operating certificate to run an airline.
Until it does, the DOT says, it is illegal for it to sell tickets.
Massachusetts businessman Luke R. Thompson, founder and chief executive officer of Mainline, said he owns the aircraft and is close to concluding negotiations with an outside contractor to run the plane. Thompson, who said his business experience so far has been in importing and malpractice insurance, said he hopes eventually to move away from the charter and become an operating airline.
As soon as a contract is signed, he said, all filings required by the DOT will be made. Meanwhile, the airline is selling vouchers, which will be converted to tickets as soon as the licensing is clear, he said.
The state Department of Transportation had a contact from Thompson six months ago about the possibility of using Honolulu Airport but hasn't heard from him since, said department spokesman Scott Ishikawa.
The Airports Division has since sent e-mails to Mainline Airways and sent the company a form to use in applying for airport use but has had no response, Ishikawa said. "We're willing to send another if he needs it," he said.
Thompson said he has that information but won't need it until his company operates the aircraft. Airport arrangements are up to the contractor, he said.
Thompson said yesterday that it is clear from the volume of calls and bookings since the Mainline Airways Web site became active three months ago that there is a solid market for cheap tickets, particularly among Hawaii residents.
Mainline's plan is to adjust prices according to demand, with prices running as high as $189 each way in peak seasons. Thompson said he expected the cheapest seats to sell out first, but he was surprised at the reaction from Hawaii.
"Seats at $89 have outsold the $99 tickets five-fold and that's only a $10 difference," Thompson said. He said Mainline is still adjusting fares and may offer more seats at the low end than appear now on the airline's Web site, www.mainlineairways.com.
The company will have a new reservations call center operating soon, perhaps as early as this weekend, and will quickly get a clearer idea of demand, he said.
Thompson said he expects to announce his plans in greater detail as the startup time gets closer. His airline's Web site says the plan is to use larger aircraft on long hauls than some operators do, operating in an efficient manner that will keep the per-seat operating cost lower than bigger airlines.
Acknowledging that this is his first venture into the airline business, Thompson said he has learned enough to know that there is a market for what he sells and that he can make money doing it.
The Web site shows coach-class seats available in July for $89 each way. Mainline Airways said that figure does not include taxes, fees and a fuel surcharge which will add about $30 each way.
Even with those add-ons, however, a trip to the mainland and back could cost less than $240, compared to a low of $440 offered by existing airlines.
Mainline's Web site lists July one-way fares ranging from $89 to $189 in coach and from $188-$359 each way in first class.
Pacific Wings, a Maui-based interisland airline, is listed on the Mainline Airways Web site as its chosen carrier to take its customers from Honolulu to other islands.
Greg Kahlstorf, president of Pacific Wings, said it is a good fit. From his airline's point of view it makes sense to have a connection to the mainland, Kahlstorf said.
"I've always felt that to be taken seriously in this market, you have to offer seats to and from the mainland," he said.
Right now, arrangements are being worked out with Mainline, but Pacific Wings could end up using another carrier for its mainland connection, he said.
Thompson's chosen aircraft, the MD-10, was the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 before McDonnell Douglas merged into Boeing. Many airlines that operated the DC-10, including Hawaiian Airlines, have phased out the widebody jets in favor of smaller, more fuel-efficient planes.
Thompson said that the bigger planes can be profitable if enough market demand is created and if they are run efficiently.
The Web site says Mainline plans to expand after starting the Los Angeles-Honolulu service, first linking other parts of Hawaii with the West Coast and then with other mainland and international connections.
The aircraft will be refitted with leather seats and a television screen at every seat, Thompson said.
Keoni Wagner, a spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines, said the airline is aware of Mainline's efforts.
"We heard the name months ago but so far we've been unable to determine if they're real," Wagner said.