Hawaiian considering flights to Europe

[Obie]

In the 1970's through the 1980's.

All of the infrastructure is still there.

[TomK]

Guys,

I know a 747 lands in Hilo everytime Obama is here, but Hilo airport doesn't even have enough seating in the boarding area for inter-island flights let alone the capability to handle 400 passengers arriving or departing on one flight.

To even think it's an airport that would be used for direct flights to Europe is preposterous.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

400 passengers arriving or departing on one flight... for direct flights to Europe is preposterous.

Have 400 people in Hilo ever been to Europe? I mean, could they even get on a plane knowing it would fly right over and beyond Las Vegas without stopping?

“We’ve got to be as clear-headed about human beings as possible, because we are still each other’s only hope,” James Baldwin to Margaret Mead in the book A Rap On Race

[Obie]

"To even think it's an airport that would be used for direct flights to Europe is preposterous."

True, United can't even fill up a 737 7 days a week and they have no competition.

Perhaps if the Kilauea Caldera filled completely with lava enough tourists would come.

[PaulW]

"To even think it's an airport that would be used for direct flights to Europe is preposterous."

Has anyone suggested that?

[TomK]

"Have 400 people in Hilo ever been to Europe? I mean, could they even get on a plane knowing it would fly right over and beyond Las Vegas without stopping?"

True. Betting on the horses in the UK is legal though (if you're in the UK), so perhaps that could be a marketing tactic. In fact, I believe betting on anything is legal!

[terracore]

"The introduction of overseas service to General Lyman Field initially met with success. Joining United Airlines and Pan American Airways in providing nonstop service to Hilo from the west coast of the U.S. were Braniff, Continental, Northwest Orient, and Western Airlines. The number of overseas passengers flying through Hilo peaked at 313,428 in 1971 and remained between 250,000 and 300,000 for most of the decade. Beginning in 1979, however, overseas passenger traffic began to fall steadily, leading one carrier after another to suspend service to Hilo. By the mid-1980s overseas traffic had fallen by such an extent that United Airlines, the sole remaining overseas carrier, terminated scheduled service on December 1, 1986. The number of overseas passengers travelling to Hilo had declined in each of the previous eight years. During the first eleven months of 1986, United Airlines had served a mere 20,914 passengers in Hilo.[11] Hilo would be left without a direct connection to North America for nearly two decades... Hilo International Airport has two runways. Runway 8-26 is 9,800 ft × 150 ft (2,987 m × 46 m) and is used for nearly all air carrier operations. It is capable of accommodating overseas passenger service by aircraft as large as the Boeing 747 and is used occasionally by the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, a military transport.[16] Runway 3/21 is 5,600 ft × 150 ft (1,707 m × 46 m) and is used for general aviation operations including take-off and landing of smaller commuter airplanes." (wikipedia)

Japanese airlines have floated the idea of direct flights to Hilo in the recent past but the tour companies refuse to put their customers into any of the Hilo hotels.... seems the hotel situation is slowly evolving.

As far as putting 400 passengers into the Hilo departure area... is Kona any better? I think those Kona outside holding corrals are just as small and worse yet most of the square footage is directly under Kona's baking sun. Not to mention KOA is consistently rated in the "top 10 worst airports" every year.

ETA: Thought this was interesting as well: "The primary reason for Hilo International Airport's relatively stagnant passenger count is the lack of tourism within the airport's service area, which includes the districts of Hilo and Puna, as well as portions of the districts of Hamakua and Ka'u, relative to the Kona district and Kohala district and the islands of Kauai and Maui. In 2008, visitor hotel rooms and condominiums on Hawaii island totaled 11,240 units. Of these, 9,576 (85.2%) were in the districts of Kona and Kohala. A mere 1,635 (14.5%) were within the districts of Hamakua, Hilo, and Puna.[19] In 2008, the respective numbers of visitor accommodations on Maui and Kaua#699;i were 19,055 and 9,203.[20] In fact, whereas the number of visitor accommodations elsewhere in the state climbed steadily since the 1970s, in east Hawaii island several hotels have been shuttered or converted into apartments or condominiums."

[leilanidude]

Nothing in that article is about Hilo or Kona. Flights would be from Honolulu.

[AKpilot]

Hawaii isn't as popular with Europeans as one would think. They have lots of closer and cheaper Tropical Alternatives; reached via Ultra-Low Cost Carriers like Condor, Norwegian or RyanAir. Now as for us Hawaiians wishing to reach Europe (where I currently am) I fear that even with the current ETOPS rules, the Hawaiian idea may be merely a pipe dream. Until the loads prove otherwise, flights will stay as they are (and have been) is my guess......

AKpilot

We're all here, because we're not all there!

[terracore]

"Hawaii isn't as popular with Europeans as one would think. They have lots of closer and cheaper Tropical Alternatives"

A direct flight would solve some of that. For my aunt to get here there was one stop in Europe, a stop on the East coast, a stop on the West coast, and then the flight to Hawaii. It took her about 2 days and she hated it. A single 14 hour trip sounds a lot more inviting.

Most Western Europeans take very long vacations (closer to a month than the 1-2 weeks others take). I wonder if the process of getting here is less important than that after a couple of weeks one is ready to see something else. I mean... if you're from NW Europe visiting Italy and you get bored, likely Greece, Egypt, Turkey, Cypress, Southern France, and other exotic locales are on the itinerary. Kinda puts that Hilo / Kona thing into perspective. On the other hand, a European who has already done the Mediterranean / Northern Africa trips wants something else. Maybe they want to come to Hawaii?