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Interisland fare war
should boost travel

NOW that neighbor island airfares have been cut, Navy Chief Petty Officer Gene Troyer, a machinist's mate at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, will probably travel interisland more often, with his family in tow.

Both Hawaiian and Aloha airlines announced 22 percent fare cuts Tuesday for people who book travel online.

"The cheaper, the better," Troyer said.

Troyer, his wife and three children travel to Kauai, where he was raised, three or four times a year. He also tries to get the family to the Big Island to see his sister at least once a year.

Increased interisland travel could amount to good news for hotel, rental car and other businesses statewide.

"I think the fare war will increase local resident travel," said Hersh Singer, chairman of SMS Research. His company recently issued a report finding that Hawaii residents were flying more to the mainland than interisland because of relatively high interisland fares.

Singer wondered aloud whether the fare reductions were the result of reduced travel by residents. He also said he believes interisland leisure and business travel will increase.

"I think (business people) will also travel more because they will see that it's now again economical -- because there's nothing better than face-to-face-business conversation," Singer said.

Mainland and Japanese visitors can also take advantage of the fares, before or after they arrive.

A state report issued in October detailed the percentages of visitors who decided to take a neighbor island trip before and after reaching their original destination in Hawaii. Mainland visitors took spontaneous, post-arrival neighbor island trips less often than their Japanese counterparts, according to surveys taken during 2003.

For example, 11 percent of mainlanders booked Big Island travel after arriving, versus 15 percent of Japanese visitors. The numbers could jump with the new fares.

Discounts are important, but the airlines "would have to have an adequate number of seats available at these fares," said Chris Kam, director of market trends for the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Neither airline would say exactly how many discounted seats are available, though Hawaiian and Aloha said there are fewer discounted seats available on high-demand flights.

"We've always had a fair number of seats available on those specific flights," said Thom Nulty, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Aloha. The number of discounted seats varies, he said.

Hawaiian Air spokesman Keoni Wagner described "a very enthusiastic response" to the fare cuts.

"Thousands of people booked their interisland trips online today and there were still Super Saver seats available. But there's no guarantee of a Super Saver seat until you book it," he said.