The Maui News Thursday, August 19, 2004

Island Air says Kahului Airport conditions are 'unacceptable'

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

KAHULUI - While he acknowledges that the layout is difficult, Island Air President Neal Takekawa said Wednesday that the situation at Kahului Airport "is unacceptable" for his customers.

A meeting Tuesday resulted in nothing attractive from Island Air's point of view. Takekawa said maybe "there are no good answers right now."

Yet if the situation is bad, it's only going to get worse. By October, rapidly expanding Island Air will have 22 flights a day in and out of Kahului.

The controversy brewed up quickly after airport manager Jon Sakamoto announced Friday that the commuter terminal would be made into a secure area beginning Monday. After protests raised by Pacific Wings, that didn't happen; but Takekawa was busy introducing new service to Hilo and didn't have a chance to explain Island Air's position.

The interisland airline wants its passengers to be able to connect or to pick up baggage easily. The Kahului commuter terminal is not a screened area for baggage. Each tenant handles its own security, at the gate, rather than in the holding area.

It also hosts several small airlines, and only Island Air wanted to start screening at the passenger waiting area. That would have created problems for the other tenants, including lack of access to restrooms.

But, said Takekawa, the Kahului commuter terminal creates a difficult position for Island Air passengers. For example, leaving a flight from Maui at Hilo, where Island Air is next to the screened Hawaiian Airlines location, the "unsterile" Island Air baggage cannot be mixed with the "sterile" Hawaiian baggage.

"It cannot even be put on the carousel," said Takekawa.

Greg Kahlstorf, president of Pacific Wings, suggests that the solution is simple: Move Island Air to the main terminal, where screeners would "sterilize" the baggage.

It's not that simple, said Takekawa. The area offered by the Airports Division is at the end of the concourse used by Hawaiian for its interisland flights, a long walk (he estimates 15 minutes) from the passenger screening station.

That would have to be followed by a hike down a flight of stairs and another walk of about 300 feet outside to a hardstand.

For handicapped passengers there is an elevator, but it's about four gates away, and "I don't think that's acceptable."

Another drawback for the main terminal - which is operating far beyond its designed capacity - is that "it does not have any more ticket counter space."

"We probably need to work with the state to come up with answers as quickly as we can," said Takekawa.

The clash between the two airlines, the only scheduled airlines using the commuter terminal at Kahului, got testy.

An Island Air plane broke down Tuesday in Honolulu, blocking the fueling point normally used by Pacific Wings.

Kahlstorf, already suspicious that Island Air's security requests were a ploy to hurt his business, accused Island Air of doing it deliberately.

Takekawa said, "I don't understand his stance. It was not our intention to try to block his plane. We don't try to do that kind of stuff."

The situation was, he said, a breakdown, and there were two alternative fueling stations available.

As for reliability, for which Island Air was criticized earlier this summer, he said now that he has more planes available, and a spare is on hand at Honolulu, so a breakdown at the gate should not interfere with operations.

Harry Eagar can be reached at heagar@mauinews.com.