Mokulele Airlines boosts daily service to Kapalua as rival prepares to pull out

Island Air’s decision last month to end service to Kapa­lua in West Maui couldn’t have come at a better time for its smaller rival Moku­lele Airlines.

Kona-based Moku­lele said Monday it has increased service between Kapa­lua and Hono­lulu to seven round-trip flights a day from three.

Ron Hansen, CEO of Moku­lele, said the increase was planned before Island Air announced March 22 that its last flights between Hono­lulu and Kapa­lua would be May 31. Island Air flies four times a day between the two destinations.

"We felt by increasing the frequency (to Kapa­lua) we’d capture more business," Hansen said. "It was planned a couple months ago. It’s fortunate that we planned to do this when we did. The fact that they (Island Air) are pulling out is too bad after all these years."

Island Air said it is dropping Kapa­lua and flying instead to Maui’s main airport in Kahu­lui because it is switching to larger planes. The interisland carrier is phasing out its 37-seat Bombardier de Havilland Dash 8 turboprop aircraft and bringing in 64-seat ATR 72 turboprops that are too large to land at the Kapa­lua airport’s 3,000-foot runway. Island Air will relaunch Hono­lulu-Kahu­lui service April 15.

Mokulele operates nine-seat Cessna Grand Caravan 208B turboprop aircraft. It recently bought two new Caravans, with one delivered 10 days ago and the second — its seventh overall —due to be delivered Thursday.

"Local passengers love the (Kapa­lua) flight, and the service and load factors (percentage of capacity ) were high enough to warrant having additional flights," Hansen said. "We’re running a 75 to 80 percent load factor."

Even with Island Air dropping the route, Moku­lele might not have the route to itself for long. Hawaiian Airlines is planning to begin a turboprop operation this summer under the name ‘Ohana by Hawaiian with daily service to Lanai and Molokai aboard its recently acquired 48-seat ATR turboprop aircraft. Hawaiian said it plans future service to Kapa­lua. Hawaiian spokes­man Keoni Wagner said the airline isn’t ready yet to announce the starting dates of its new operation.

"We’re like an ant compared to them," Hansen said of Hawaiian and Island Air.

Mokulele, which has a combined 90 full- and part-time employees, currently flies to seven airports — Hono­lulu, Lanai, Molokai, Kapa­lua, Kahu­lui, Hana and Kona. Hawaiian had 4,906 employees as of Dec. 31, and Island Air has about 245.

"There’s a possibility of doing other things to the Big Island or to Hana," Hansen said. "We’ve got plans for other small cities and communities that are currently not getting good service or any service."

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Transpac Aviation, the parent company of Moku­lele, purchased the small carrier in November 2011 from Mesa Air Group Inc., operator of go! airlines.

Hansen said Moku­lele has been profitable every month since he’s owned it.

"I wouldn’t be in the business if it wasn’t profitable," he said. "We’re serving a different market than Hawaiian and Island Air. There’s no way that a Caravan can compete with a big turboprop or a jet."