Hawaii SuperFerry?

[whymeworry?]

Do you guys and gals at HA and AQ see this as another threat to the Hawaii interisland air market?

I'm not trying to stir the pot. I have nothing but the utmost respect for y'all maintaing a solid contract with work rules better than my airline, despite your CH11 process and two concession rounds (better than what my union did and we didn't even file). Just curious what your take on it may be.

I was in HNL on layover last week and hooked up with some AQ buddies of mine. They didn't really want to give the topic an objective arguement.

 

[Spooky 2]

Do you guys and gals at HA and AQ see this as another threat to the Hawaii interisland air market?

I'm not trying to stir the pot. I have nothing but the utmost respect for y'all maintaing a solid contract with work rules better than my airline, despite your CH11 process and two concession rounds (better than what my union did and we didn't even file). Just curious what your take on it may be.

I was in HNL on layover last week and hooked up with some AQ buddies of mine. They didn't really want to give the topic an objective arguement.

This has been tried at least twice before and both times it has failed. The last one was using hydrofoils similar to those between VHHH and Macau. The darn things kept hitting whales and the damage to both was significant. No worries here.

 

[scangadah]

I had the pleasure of riding one of the aforementioned "hydrofoil's" in 1977. I won't tell you how old I was at the time. We hit "something" as the Captain put it and that this stopped going forward and nosed down like a ice covered Piper Lance.
We bobbed around for a few hours then was finally towed back to Kauai. I thought it was cool but my Aunt was really pissed. She vowed to never ride it again as long as she lived (and lived in Hawaii).

 

[whymeworry?]

Your responses make sense but I'm sure they're using underwater sonar like: http://www.echopilot.com/

I looked at installing this in my boat. As they say in boating, every boat runs aground at some point in her life. So echopilot makes sense as an upgrade for me whenever I get that extra cash.

That said, I'm sure $10 million boats like the superferry will have a much better version of this to watch out for whales, submerged containers, etc.

Assuming the venture takes off, do y'all think it will be a problem for AQ or HA?

 

[HalinTexas]

I don't think that the Superferry will have the frequency to hurt that much of the inter-island flying.

 

[HAL]

I'm not too worried about the ferry. Right now, their fares are even higher than ours or AQ's. (I'm not counting the brain-damaged $1 Go! fares). The ferrys will only make one or two runs a day, for $52, plus a 30%(!!!!) fuel 'surcharge'. That is in line with what HA and AQ were charging before Go! came in to 'help the citizens of Hawaii beat the price-gouging local airlines'. The ferry is built to take rough seas, but I don't know if the locals really know how bad it can get in the channels between the islands. Even a big ship like the superferry will be rockin' and rollin' for a few hours between the islands. The islands have needed a good way for the locals to take their cars between the islands, and for an extra $60 to $70 dollars per car, that's a pretty good deal. But honestly I don't have much fear that the superferry will put us out of business. Amazingly, when there isn't any competetion for them (on the water), they are able to charge what it costs to do business - something the airlines are unable to do at the moment. However I think that once people have ridden on the ferry (or their family/friends have), they'll decide that a smooth 25 minute flight at a cheaper price beats a two hour heave-fest on the open ocean. I wish the superferry luck - there is a need for car transport. But I'm not worried about then knocking us from the skies.

HAL

 

[Capt. X]

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=+2]Hawaii Superferry tests passenger cruise[/SIZE][/FONT]

SUPERFERRY FACTS

The Superferry's first boat, Alakai, is 350 feet long and 78 feet wide and can accommodate 866 passengers and 282 cars.
The state spent $40 million on harbor improvements to prepare for the Superferry.

TIPS TO PREVENT SEASICKNESS
The Hawaii Superferry folks and others offer some advice for preventing seasickness:
Eat a light meal before traveling; starting with something in your stomach often helps.
Chew on ginger candy or spearmint gum to ease the upset.
Take over-the-counter medicines or use other preventive measures before sailing to ward off the queasiness.
Look at the horizon; focus on a distant point.
Avoid reading while the ship is in motion.
Sip or have access to liquids; club soda helps to settle a queasy stomach.
Superferry sells motion-sickness medicines in the onboard gift shop as do drugstores.
Motion-sickness bags also are available on board.

[FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif][SIZE=-1] ABOARD THE HAWAII SUPERFERRY — The Hawaii Superferry took to sea yesterday on a trial run off the coast of O'ahu that showed both its potential and its problems — mainly seasick passengers in otherwise calm seas.
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] Yesterday's two-hour cruise stayed well within the protection of the lee of O'ahu, sailing from Pier 19 to Diamond Head and nearly up to Ka'ena Point. It was an hour short of the scheduled trips to Maui and Kaua'i that will take the Superferry into rougher, open waters.
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] "That was spooky and it wasn't even a rough sea day," said Nani Kaui of Makiki. "If it had been rough, I wouldn't be able to handle that."
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif]ROLLING CARS
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] Yesterday, down in the first-level vehicle hold, cars that did not have their emergency brakes applied rolled back and forth within inches of each other and car alarms sounded intermittently as they were jostled by the motion.
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] The trunk of a gray Nissan sedan suddenly popped open and a golden retriever inside a Jeep lolled its head back and forth, its tongue hanging out.
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] Kaawa's 2002 Ford F-150 was the first of the 80 vehicles to drive aboard the Superferry yesterday. After the two-hour cruise, Kaawa was even more anxious to get her truck off the ship.
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] "Look at all this salt," she said as Superferry workers connected a car ramp to the back end of the ship. "I'm going straight to a car wash."
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] Kaawa said that if she does book a real trip on the Superferry she would definitely bring her well-worn Chevrolet Lumina instead.
[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman, Times, serif] "Could you imagine how much salt it would get on an actual trip to a Neighbor Island?" she asked.
[/FONT]