Island Air switches service from Kapalua to Kahului
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTISER.COM
An Island Air ATR 72 plane was parked Tuesday outside the hangar where the company announced the airline had been sold to Larry Ellison
An Island Air ATR 72 plane was parked Tuesday outside the hangar where the company announced the airline had been sold to Larry Ellison
Island Air, the interisland carrier bought by billionaire Larry Ellison last month, will discontinue service to Kapalua in West Maui and resume service to the main Maui airport in Kahului starting April 15.
Island Air said the change was due to a switch in aircraft. Island Air is changing from the 37-seat Dash 8 planes to 64-seat ATR 72.
“Our larger aircraft will not be able to land on Kapalua Airport’s short runway,” said Les Murashige, Island Air president in a news release Friday.
Island Air — which has 224 weekly flights between Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai and Kauai — accounts for about 5 percent of the interisland market. Hawaiian Airlines controls 84 percent of the market.
