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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Aloha Airlines selling
coupon books for
interisland flights
WHAT? Coupon books for interisland travel? It's not a permanent thing, but Aloha Airlines is celebrating its 58th birthday by offering a limited sale of $58 coupons in books of five.
The price does not include taxes and fees, so a coupon book costs $318, which works out to $63.60 each, said Stu Glauberman, vice president for corporate communications.
But let's do the math. With five one-way tickets in a book, wouldn't that leave a traveler stranded somewhere?
"If you buy two (books), you'll have 10 (coupons)," Glauberman said.
The airline has always packaged coupon books in clusters of five, he said.
Additionally, buyers who use mail-in order forms have to make sure they're postmarked by Aug. 30 and must pay an extra $3 handling fee per coupon book. That fee can be avoided by ordering online through www.alohaairlines.com, but the expiration date is the same, Glauberman said.
"This sale differs from previous coupons in that you cannot buy them at ticket counters or through travel agents," Glauberman said.
Buyers are limited to 10 books, and coupons must be used by June 15, 2005.
All flights through Honolulu to another island require two coupons. If a flight from Kona to Kauai is desired, for instance, two coupons must be used.
"In that case you could get a better AlohaPass fare, or another book-in-advance fare," said Glauberman.
There are no blackout dates, meaning coupons can be used for flights on Christmas Eve, but "obviously that's going to (sell out) first." Friday departures and Sunday returns also fill up quickly and not all flights have coupon seats available, he cautioned.
Competitor Hawaiian Airlines is studying the offer, a spokesman said.
Costco gas loses juice
The Costco gas station on Alakawa Street lost power to its pumps shortly after noon yesterday, with the typical lunch-hour lineup of cars waiting six deep for the 16 nozzles.Attendants leaped into action, telling customers what the problem was, apologizing for the inconvenience and trying to correct the outage.
The entrance was coned off within 10 minutes.
"We didn't want people waiting for nothing," said General Manager Robert Loomis.
The lunch-hour customers gave up after several minutes, clearing the queues, leaving the station empty, and leaving officials to track down the cause of the outage.
It turned out to be blown fuses, which were replaced and tested before the station reopened about 3:30 p.m., he said.
"It's unfortunate. We know it's an inconvenience," Loomis said.