Mel's Internet Universe Weblog

Where are the Cheap Seats?

Tue, 13 May 2008 09:20 GMT

The cost of inter-island travel has definitely gone up. The days of the fare war between Mesa Airlines' Go! and the other inter-island carriers is over. Fuel costs are up, Aloha Airlines is out of the passenger business and Mesa settled their $90 million lawsuit with Hawaiian Airlines out of court for $52.5 million.

Here is the latest breakdown of fares for a typical inter-island trip between Honolulu and Hilo for May 30 to June 11.

MESA AIRLINES' GO

Mesa advertises a low Go! airlines fare of $54 one-way (photo above). Reality check? I went to their website, and fares for my travel window were stated at $59, $69, $74, $89 or $94 depending on day and time of travel. Where's that $54 seat?

HAWAIIAN AIRLINES

Hawaiian Airlines remains the inter-island airline leader despite higher prices. They added more flight capacity and carried more passengers since Aloha Airlines called it a day on March 31. Hawaiian's fares for my travel window range from $59 on the low end to $109 on the high end. This is for coach seating, depending again on the day and time of travel. Note that some of Hawaiian Airlines' flights to Hilo stop at Maui before continuing. And they cost $84 for more time in the plane.

ALOHA AIRLINES

Totally out of the passenger business, Aloha Airlines continues to operate their freight service with hopes that they will be bought by another firm real soon. The airline closed their cargo operations for a few days and filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which was a smart move on their part. This allowed them to continue the selling negotiatons without having to deal much with their unions as the airline was technically liquidated upon Chapter 7 filing.

ISLAND AIR

Flying to Hilo on Island Air? First you have to love prop planes to undertake this trip. Second you have to plan for at least 3 hours of travel time between Honolulu and Hilo. All of Island Air's flights to Hilo and back involve at least 1 stop on Maui. Two of their 3 Hilo flights also stop on Molokai. Price for these long flights? $73 or $83. Island Air is an airline to use if you are going to rural airports on the islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai. The are not a very good choice for going to the Hilo from Honolulu.

HAWAII SUPERFERRY

They're not an airline. They are a ship. They don't go to Hilo but are planning on Big Island service starting next year to Kawaihae. Currently they sail at least once a day to and from Honolulu to Kahului. Hawaii Superferry's current fare is $39 per person each way. $55 each way for your standard sized vehicle. The prices go up to $49 per person and $65 per vehicle starting in June.

Yes, the heyday of cheap inter-island travel is over. Our travel choices are less. Bottom line is that if anyone wants to go anywhere, some serious financial bullets are going to have to be bitten. And of course people will adjust and probably travel less.

Hawaii ConCon Website Launched

Mon, 12 May 2008 13:58 GMT

There was a press conference on Friday (May 9) at the State Capitol to formally announce the citizen driven website HawaiiConCon.org. Speaking at the press conference were a cross section of legislators, computer "geeks" and participating citizens. HawaiiConCon.org is a free website where Hawaii residents can go to get information and discuss the merits of whether or not a Constitutional Convention should be approved by the voters in the upcoming eleciton. The site also serves as a forum to discuss other issues impacting Hawaii.

As for a constitutional convention itself, I support the vote to hold one. There are some serious changes that need to be made to our state constitution and a convention will be a good vehicle to do it. Vote "yes" on this ballot question.

Additional Links

HawaiiConCon.org

Photo: Taken at launch press conference at State Capitol on May 9.

Honolulu Arbitron Radio Ratings

Wed, 07 May 2008 06:24 GMT

The latest Arbitron ratings for the Winter period is reported today in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. There are no suprises as the morning show team of Michael W. Perry & Larry Price on Clear Channel's KSSK FM & AM lead the pack of prime-time morning shows.

Overall the top 5 radio stations in the Honolulu market are:

KSSK 92.3 FM

KINE 105.1 FM

KRTR 96.3 FM

KCCN 100.3 FM

KHPW 104.3 FM

Ever wondered who the bottom dwellers are overall? You can see them at the Radio & Records Website. The 3 Honolulu Radio stations at the bottom of the Arbitron pile are:

3. KKNE 940 AM

2. KLHT 1040 AM

1. KGU 760 AM

Traditional radio listening is on the decline. How many of you regularly listen to the radio all of the time or at least some of the time?

Note: I also operate the Hawaii Radio & Television Guide website which I have redone as a blog. I will be cross posting some of the articles from that site back to this one.

Takeover at Iolani Palace

Thu, 01 May 2008 02:45 GMT

"Hawaiian Kingdom Government," one of several sovereignty organizations in the State of Hawaii, took over Iolani Palace for nearly 8 hours today. Members of the "kingdom" blocked public access to the historic palace and adjacent buildings by locking all of the gates and placing guards at each entrance. Several state workers were either locked in the fenced complex or shut out of work for the day. The Iolani Palace grounds, managed by the State Dept. of Land & Natural Resources is home for the Friends of Iolani Palace, the non-profit organization that operates the palace as a historic museum, and the Hawaii State Archives.

For the most part the takeover of the palace was a quiet if not boring event, until the gates were re-opened by the protesters shortly after 2 pm. Media, state and county officials and the public waited for most of the day for something to happen.

Critics have wondered why harsher and swifter action was not taken by officials. Potential charges of trespassing and kidnapping could be levied by officials against Hawaiian Kingdom Government.

Additional Links:

"No Trespassing" sign at the main entry to Iolani Palace.

Hawaiian Kingdom Government protester watches at King & Richard Street entry.

State Sheriffs near the backyard mall entry next to the State Capitol.

More photos at this link.

Another Costly Recycling Mandate

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:01 GMT

I hate environmentalists. They cost consumers more money every time lawmakers fall under their spell and concoct bills to "save the environment".

Think the dreadful beverage container tax. Every time consumers buy something in a beverage container, 6 cents is slapped onto the cost of the each container as an additional tax. Consumers who want to get the recycling tax back have to wash and collect the bottles and return them to a redemption center. Problem is consumers only get 5 cents back per bottle. The State of Hawaii pockets a penny on every beverage container purchase. This tax is slapped on top of the 4.72% General Excise Tax consumers pay for the product.

It has been reported that the bottle tax has allowed the state to land a multi-million windfall. It is nothing but a money grab, not an environmental law.

Now comes the new "Electronic Devices Recycling Program" in the form of SB 2843. This new bill will create a new mandate that "requires manufacturers of electronic devices to collect and recycle electronic devices. Establishes the electronic device recycling fund. Establishes a working group that includes TV manufacturers to develop a plan to recycle TVs."

This legislation will place many burdens on electronics manufacturers and retailers, both in and out of Hawaii.

The bill also establishes a new special fund to administer "all fees, payments, and penalties...." The state will collect an annual $5000 registration fee from device manufacturers.

The costs associated with this recycling mandate is certainly to be passed on to consumers. And that is very bad when Hawaii already has the rotten reputation of being one of the highest cost of living and taxed states in the union. The madness of more government mandated cost increases has to stop!

Hawaii consumers have long had opportunities to recycle their old electronic devices through several community based, volunteer recycling campaigns. Like the bottle bill, the public certainly does not need another forced mandate on recycling.

The Hawaii Electronic Devices Recycling Program is just another money grab, just like the Beverage Container Tax.

Photo: Voluntary computer recycling day.