[ OUR OPINION ]

Air fare increases will
hurt tourism, residents

THE ISSUE Hawaii's two interisland airlines raise their ticket prices by 12 to 17 percent.

CORRECTION Friday, May 30, 2003 » Flight time between Hawaii and the West Coast is generally about five hours. An editorial Sunday about interisland fare increases said incorrectly that such flights take three hours. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

BUSINESS people and residents for whom frequent flying between islands is essential will feel another financial squeeze as Hawaii's interisland airlines almost simultaneously raised their fares. The 12 to 17 percent jumps likely will cut tourist traffic to the neighbor islands, further damaging their visitor-related economies.

Although government interference with the airline industry is undesirable, state officials should track the effects of the increases and look for ways to encourage low-cost carriers to enter the market or to support ocean transportation initiatives.

Other carriers recently added direct flights to the neighbor islands and cruise ship traffic has inched up, but not with enough volume. The fare increases of $10.50 on a one-way ticket -- the second hikes this year -- may discourage visitors to Oahu from taking in other islands. Combined with reduced flight schedules, the repercussions could prove ruinous to many.

Residents and businesses have little choice but to travel on Hawaiian and Aloha airlines. Competitive fares between the two are non-existent, and both maintain that interisland routes are money-losing operations even if their planes take off with every seat filled and even with wage concession from employees. They say the price of flights between islands is less than all flights of similar distances on the mainland, but mainland travelers have other options, not like people on ocean-surrounded islands.

With Hawaiian locked in a contentious bankruptcy battle with its creditors, air travel here faces strong headwinds. Aloha lost $43 million last year, while Hawaiian's red ink totaled $58 million in 2002.

Meanwhile, the airlines are still operating under a federal anti-trust exemption that allows them to collaborate on schedules so that they would no longer run flights to the same destinations within minutes of each other. As a result, however, travelers have had some difficulty getting on board. "Going into Memorial Day weekend," said tour operator spokeswoman Helene Shenkus, "we still have cars available, we have hotels available, but we have no airline seats."

Governor Lingle in December asked the airlines to increase their flights after her cabinet nominees were unable to get to Honolulu for meetings. At that time, the governor also was concerned about the economic effects of a reduction in travelers who might fly to a neighbor island from Honolulu as well as for people whose businesses required frequent trips.

Airlines have to make a profit. But, when a 40-minute dash between islands costs about $100 less than an a three-hour flight to the West Coast, questions about fair pricing are sure to be raised.