Hawaiian Airlines’ new interisland turboprop operation will be called ‘Ohana by Hawaiian and feature aircraft with a kapa design.
The airline, which unveiled its new brand Monday at Honolulu Airport, said daily service to Lanai and Molokai will begin this summer with the two ATR 42 turboprop aircraft it recently bought.
Hawaiian President and CEO Mark Dunkerley said Monday that fares have not been set yet, but will be "competitive." He also said Hawaiian, the largest carrier in the state, does not have a firm date for starting the new service because Idaho-based Empire Airlines, which was hired last year to operate the flights, is waiting for Federal Aviation Adminstration approval.
Empire is hiring up to 100 employees, including pilots, flight attendants and mechanics, as well as ground and customer service workers.
‘Ohana will put additional pressure on Island Air, an interisland turboprop carrier which is in the midst of being sold. Island Air said last month it has a buyer for the carrier, and sources familiar with the deal said the buyer is the billionaire founder of Oracle Corp., Larry Ellison, who bought 97 percent of Lanai island last year.
"Whatever is going on at Island Air doesn’t affect our plans," Dunkerley said at a news conference. "We’re just moving ahead. We’ve always believed the service that we’re proposing will make the best sense for the communities involved and also for Hawaiian Airlines."
Hawaiian bought the turboprop aircraft last year for the service. The planes, manufactured by Franco-Italian airframe maker ATR, will seat 48 passengers. The planes, which have not yet been painted, will feature a design by Hilo-based artist Sig Zane and his son Kuha‘o.
Hawaiian will be responsible for buying the aircraft for the turboprop service, marketing the flights and providing reservations and sales. Hawaiian Airlines’ parent company, Hawaiian Holdings Inc., will report the revenue and expenses as part of its quarterly financial results.
"The name ‘Ohana perfectly captures the idea behind this service and the role it will play in our community," Dunkerley said.
Hawaiian’s new service, which fills a void in its already dominant interisland operation, will allow the company to fly to smaller airports. Dunkerley said he expects to see more growth with the Lanai service than with Molokai but said both islands are equally as important.
"Obviously, Molokai and Lanai are very different places," he said. "Lanai has recently been bought by Larry Ellison, and we are aware there are some plans to continue the development of Lanai. Those sorts of development do tend to drive traffic so we hope to be working very closely with the new owners of Lanai to figure out what the future is going to hold.
"In terms of Molokai, it’s an important community within the state. It’s very important that they have access to affordable and efficient air transportation to go about not only their everyday business, but really, in our state, their everyday lives. We are an island community, and air travel is something that’s terribly important in people’s everyday lives. And while I don’t think the growth will be necessarily as great (as Lanai), it will be no less important a route for us."
Dunkerley estimates that the Lanai and Molokai service will be "up and running" this summer.
"As soon as it takes hold, we’ll be looking at West Maui and other routes as well," he said.
Hawaiian could have five or six ATR 42s in its fleet when the turboprop service is at full operation, said Hadden Watt, managing director of ‘Ohana and former senior director of strategy and transformation for Hawaiian. He said Hawaiian expects to acquire a third ATR 42 later this year.
"There are a lot of regulatory approvals we need to go through," Watt said. "There’s maintenance work that needs to be done. We need to do painting. Empire needs be hiring people and training them. There’s a lot of uncertainty there. Until we get a further bit down that process, we can’t set an exact (launch) date."
