Stuck in paradise

The families of Liz Hoefle, Susan McCreedy and Ruth Rogow were thrilled yesterday when they only had to pay an additional $1,800 for the flight yesterday to bring their stranded party of eight home to the West Coast.

Before booking the Hawaii Tourism Authority charter seats, the family was looking at spending $7,200 to get home from their nine-day vacation, which stretched into 13 days after ATA Airlines shut down.

During their extended stay, the keiki missed school and Rogow, a midwife, missed the delivery of four babies. McCreedy, a social worker, said that coworkers had to pick up her case load of 60 HIV-positive clients. The family also spent an additional $1,300 on extra accommodations, groceries and car rentals -- not including the shave ice for the children, McCreedy said.

"What was supposed to be a very enjoyable and relaxing vacation turned into a very stressful situation," said Hoefle, a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in Bend, Ore. "We're just so thankful to the Hawaii Tourism Authority and to Hawaiian for finding a way to bring us home."

Hoefle's friends and family members were among the luckiest the consumer casualties of last week's ATA and Aloha airline shutdowns. Thousands of other stranded passengers remain behind, trying to snap up the seats on chartered planes as fast as the Hawaii Tourism Authority could add them.

Hawaiian and United airlines added six flights on their own, but still there were not enough seats to get all the passengers home. The HTA has been working to add charter flights and special sections in existing flights since tourism leaders got the OK to spend up to $5 million in emergency funds.

State tourism leaders still are negotiating with carriers, he said. However, the HTA will have to determine the need before it can complete the process, he said.

"We still don't have a handle on how many visitors and Hawaii residents are still stranded, but I'm sure that its still thousands," said HTA President and Chief Executive Rex Johnson. "We're asking the airlines and our hotels to help us track it."

Hawaii officials also are trying to gauge how many kamaaina are stuck on the Mainland. While Circus, Circus in Reno, Nev., is offering complimentary rooms for stranded ATA travelers, stranded passengers in most other states haven't fared as well as they have in Hawaii.

Meanwhile, Alaska Airlines became the latest carrier to add some longer-term capacity relief to Hawaii's visitor industry, down 15 percent from the ATA and Aloha shutdowns.

Alaska Airlines announced yesterday that it will offer new service between the mainland and Maui beginning this summer. Year-round daily flights between Seattle and Kahului are scheduled to begin July 17. In addition, seasonal flights between Anchorage and Kahului will operate twice a week from Oct. 31 to April 25, 2009.

Last week Hawaiian Airlines said it will begin nonstop daily service between Honolulu and Oakland starting May 1.

More flights added The Hawaii Tourism Authority has arranged additional flights for passengers left stranded by the shutdown of ATA and Aloha airlines: Panda / Hawaiian Airlines » Today: Kokua Flight No. 7515 departs Honolulu at 3:30 p.m. for Los Angeles; » Tomorrow: Kokua Flight No. 7516 departs Los Angeles at 11:00 a.m. for Honolulu; and » Tomorrow: Kokua Flight No. 7517 departs Honolulu at 3:30 p.m. for Los Angeles. For reservations call: » 734-1969 (8:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m ) or » 349-6150 (6:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.). United Airlines » Tomorrow: Flight No. 9790 departs San Francisco at 8 a.m. for Kahului, Maui » Tomorrow: Flight No. 9791 departs Kahului, Maui, at 11:15 a.m. for Honolulu, then departs Honolulu at 1:00 p.m. for San Francisco For reservations call: » 1-800-241-6522 Note: For all flights, ATA and Aloha ticket holders will need: » Original date of travel (only valid for passengers scheduled to travel from April 2-10); » Record locator number; and » Ticket number. Updated information on flights and hotel accommodations for ATA and Aloha Airlines' passengers can be found on the HVCB's Web site www.gohawaii.com/ata. Source: Hawaii Tourism Authority