Mokulele aims for July 1 to start Kalaeloa flights

Mokulele Airlines is expediting preparations for the first-ever commercial service out of Kalaeloa Airport and is targeting July 1 for its inaugural flight.

The small local carrier and the state Department of Transportation are close to announcing the start of interisland operations from the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station, according to Dean Capelouto, transportation committee chairman of the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board.

But there’s still a lot of unfinished business.

Kalaeloa Airport, which is also known as John Rodgers Field and goes by the code JRF, isn’t recognized yet in the global distribution system used by travel websites such as Orbitz and Expedia. A lease is still pending to rent the state property. And details have to be worked out regarding counter space, installing Internet connections and where to park and tie down the planes, among other things.

If Mokulele hits its target date, it would begin flights 15 years to the day since the July 1, 1999, closure of the naval air station. The airport was handed over to the state at that time for use by general aviation aircraft.

Mokulele executives have also said they will need at least 45 days to pre-sell tickets once they are assured of a start date.

The airline, which flies nine-seat Cessna Grand Caravan turboprops, hasn’t announced its interisland flight schedule yet, but previously said it is seeking to fly two to three daily round-trip flights from Kalaeloa Airport to Kahului, Molokai and Lanai, with additional service possibly to Kapalua in West Maui.

The Navy named the airfield after Cmdr. John Rodgers, who made the first attempt to fly from San Francisco to Hawaii in 1925. The plane was forced to land in the ocean after running out of fuel about 365 miles from Oahu. The crew crafted sails from the wings of the plane and sailed toward Hawaii, eventually being towed to Kauai by a submarine.

Kona-based Mokulele has told the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board it is planning to hire up to a dozen new employees for the service.

Mokulele Chief Executive Officer Ron Hansen declined to comment for publication until details have been finalized.

But Brad Hayes, executive director of the Naval Air Museum Barbers Point, said the community is excited about getting commercial air service on the Leeward side of Oahu that will eliminate the travel and wait times endured when commuting interisland out of Honolulu Airport.

"An airport is really the gateway to your city, and everybody calls Kapolei the second city," Hayes said. "So this airport here is really a jewel in the skies, and I think a lot of people don’t know that it’s here. The mission of the Naval Air Museum is to get that word out and educate people about the history of this airport."

Capelouto said commercial service out of Kalaeloa Airport also will save passengers the hassle of looking for parking or standing in long security lines. There will be no need to pass through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint because it is not required for aircraft with nine or fewer seats.

"There’s a lot of people looking at this as an option of flying from the neighbor islands to get directly to Ko Olina, which is only a hop, skip and a jump from Kapolei," Capelouto said. "We’re supportive of this as a neighborhood board because it promotes business of all sorts. It actually adds potential jobs in our community either via the connector taxi service picking people up from Kalaeloa and taking them where they need to go or at the ticket counter."

The Naval Air Station, which was developed by the Navy in 1939 as a mooring station for airships, is now used by the U.S. Coast Guard as well as other military aircraft and private planes. Kalaeloa Airport is also classified as a reliever airport in case an incoming plane is unable to land at Honolulu Airport.

Norman "Ray" Simpson, air traffic control manager at Kalaeloa Airport, said he doesn’t expect the presence of Moku lele to have much of an impact on the control tower, which is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

"The impact on our operations is going to be very minimal because we’re talking about a small number of flights going in and out," he said.

Simpson said he doesn’t expect it will take long before Mokulele’s operations at Kalaeloa Airport become a success.

"There would be a tremendous benefit for the local community for people who want to pop over to the other islands on a last-minute flight," he said. "I think once it catches on and people realize it is here and how much quicker and faster it is, I feel they’ll be busy all the time."

The airline operates more than 120 flights a day connecting Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui and Hawaii island and said it plans to purchase two or three more Caravans to meet an expanded summer schedule.

Neighborhood Board Chairwoman Evelyn Souza said noise initially was a concern of the committee but that those fears have been mitigated after being assured by the airline that the noise level from the Caravans will be less than what currently exists at the airport from other planes and helicopters.

"If you have to weigh the negatives, I feel the pluses outweigh that hand over fist," Souza said. "We have the water park, Ko Olina resort and Aulani, and people from the neighbor islands may just want to come over for the day."