06-16-2008, 06:38 AM
Yup, the airline service has been going downhill for a long time, however they have become available to a much wider market than when they had really good service. Remember when folks used to dress up to ride airplanes? That was also when about only ten percent of the population had ever ridden on an airline.
However, Dick, between the islands there really aren't any options comparable to airlines. There is a very limited ferry service but that takes hours and gets folks seasick. There isn't any big passenger liner service between islands. The cruise ships are all about long multiple stop cruises and not just carrying passengers from point A to point B which is the service the islanders would want.
Hawaiian Airlines, Go, Pacific Wings and to some extent Mokulele airlines are the only ones who fly between the islands. Pacific Wings and Mokulele have very limited schedules and fly very small planes. Go has already been in some sort of financial trouble and that pretty much leaves Hawaiian as the only inter-island carrier. Hawaiian just went through bankruptcy and redid their entire fleet several years ago with more efficient airplanes. They also reduced their employees wages and did all sorts of other cost saving efforts at that time which is why they were able to outlast Aloha when Go and ATA came into the local market. ATA AND Aloha are all gone now and the rest are on what seems to be shaky ground.
Hawaii without affordable inter-island air service means, among other things, there is very limited medical facilities for most of the islands except Oahu.
However, Dick, between the islands there really aren't any options comparable to airlines. There is a very limited ferry service but that takes hours and gets folks seasick. There isn't any big passenger liner service between islands. The cruise ships are all about long multiple stop cruises and not just carrying passengers from point A to point B which is the service the islanders would want.
Hawaiian Airlines, Go, Pacific Wings and to some extent Mokulele airlines are the only ones who fly between the islands. Pacific Wings and Mokulele have very limited schedules and fly very small planes. Go has already been in some sort of financial trouble and that pretty much leaves Hawaiian as the only inter-island carrier. Hawaiian just went through bankruptcy and redid their entire fleet several years ago with more efficient airplanes. They also reduced their employees wages and did all sorts of other cost saving efforts at that time which is why they were able to outlast Aloha when Go and ATA came into the local market. ATA AND Aloha are all gone now and the rest are on what seems to be shaky ground.
Hawaii without affordable inter-island air service means, among other things, there is very limited medical facilities for most of the islands except Oahu.
Kurt Wilson