Significant delays in Moroccan and Lanai air services will see today that Hawaiian Airlines is effectively suspending its Ohana to Hawaii passenger and cargo services on the islands from November 1.
With the suspension of flights, the smaller carrier Mokule Airlines, which uses nine-seat turboprops, will leave both destinations as the sole provider of air service.
Hawaii said it is seeing lower travel demand due to COVID-19 epidemics and quarantine restrictions but has sought to maintain the service. However, that low travel demand led to the provision of labor in Hawaiian pilots ’contracts which affected the airline’s ability to provide Ohana through the Hawaiian service.
The state’s largest carrier said the provision, which is common in the U.S. airline industry, prevents Hawaiian from offering flights to Ohana – operated by Empire Airlines from third turboprop aircraft as a third-party feeder carrier – Flights of the powered A321neo jet have dropped dramatically.
Peter Ingram, president and CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, said in a statement that it is an honor to provide essential transportation and, most recently, all-cargo service to our state for the people of Lanai, Molokai and West Maui. “While we are frustrated at being unable to avoid service suspension, this is a difficult situation for both Hawaiian and Empire Airlines as we find an extremely challenging period, and we are committed to returning flights to all communities that fly to Ohana via Hawaii. Depends. ”
Huawei launched Ohana in the spring of 2014 with Hawaiian flights with a 48-seat ATR-428 turboprop aircraft, followed by an all-cargo service with ATR-728 aircraft in the summer of 2001. ‘Ohna is currently flying three daily round trips between Honolulu. And four round trips daily between Lanai and Honolulu and Molokai.
The service was suspended in March by Ohana by air between Honolulu and Kapalua in western Maui.
Diane Preza, a lifelong Lanai resident, said she was disappointed that ‘Ohana’s air service was being suspended.
“Ohana Airlines means a lot to the people on Lanai because the only way we can get off the island is to go to the doctor or for a medical visit,” he said. “It simply came to our notice then. It is frustrating that we lost that service. “
Preza said that in addition to Mokulel Airlines, the only other option to land from the island is now to take a service-reducing ferry from Lahaina, Maui. Or, for a hotel guest on Lanai, an eight-seater Lanai air turboprop is available from Honolulu.
Hawaii said it is contacting guests affected by the service suspension to provide a refund. Cargo customers will be offered a refund or, depending on the shipment, have the option to transport their products between the islands with Hawaiian’s Boeing 717 and A321neo aircraft.
“There are between 0 and 50 flights a day on these islands, but there is no set of daily flights to Molokai and Lanai,” said Keith Sison, chief of staff at Mokulel Airlines.
“We fly for demand,” he said. “A lot of people buy tickets, we fly planes.”
Sisson issued a statement following Hawaiian’s announcement, indicating that the client would potentially meet the growing demand.
“Starting November 1, we have dedicated additional aircraft and crew to both Molokai and Lanai,” the statement said. “This will result in no change in our fares, and we are committed to ensuring enough seats to meet demand on a daily basis.”
Local aviation historian Peter Forman said Mokulel could be more agile than Hawaiian during an epidemic.
“Airlines with the smallest aircraft are more likely to survive an epidemic because the load is decreasing,” Forman said. “Epidemiology favors a company like Mokul because it can adjust the number of seats to match the number of passengers traveling.”
However, Forman notes that Molokai and Lanai need more air travel when economic recovery occurs.
“Recovery can happen much faster than people expect, and if a vaccine is found in the near future, Molokai and Lanai could be in a difficult situation, as it can be difficult for an airline with very small aircraft to fly enough.” To meet the new demand, ”he said.
Forman said the problem also exacerbates the shortage of pilots, which could be implemented when airlines advance their flight schedules.
He said tourism is a small part of other people’s economic activity against those islands, but nevertheless, if not enough seats can be found, the shortage of airline seats will affect the economy of those islands.
Hawaii said that while it could resume Ohna by air service with significant recovery in international travel, that situation is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
One of the largest employers in the state, the airline cut its workforce by about 2,500 employees this month when the coronavirus assistance, relief and economic security payroll support program came to an end.
Hawaii said Ohana was created by the Hawaiian suspension if the airline pilots association agreed to relax the provision of the agreement, which would allow additional payroll support program funding to be approved by the federal government and bring Hawaiian back to its payroll.
