KAILUA-KONA — Hawaii Island-based Mokulele Airlines is spreading its wings to service a new market — on the mainland.
Mokulele, which began operations in 1994 at Kona International Airport, will begin offering service between Imperial County Airport (IPL) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) starting May 23, said Mokulele President Rob McKinney. Initial plans call for four flights between the two airports, which are located more than 160 miles apart.
“We’re super proud that we’re able to continue the great service that we’ve been able to provide for the people in Hawaii, and we are going to continue that tradition and bring a little aloha to the mainland,” McKinney told West Hawaii Today.
Mokulele is making the hop across the Pacific to Southern California after winning a bid to provide service between the airports via the federal Essential Air Service program, said McKinney.
“If you’re going to the mainland the closest you can get to Hawaii is Southern California so it makes sense to get a foothold there,” he said. “We’re going to continue to grow and grow, but we’re not going to lose sight of who we are — Mokulele is a Hawaiian company and will always be a Hawaiian company.”
The program was put into place to guarantee that small communities served by certificated air carriers before airline deregulation in the 1970s maintain a minimal level of scheduled air service. The U.S. Department of Transportation is mandated to provide eligible communities access to air transportation and that is generally accomplished by subsidizing trips.
The City Council of Imperial supported the proposal from Mokulele Airlines over Great Lakes Aviation and Boutique Air, while its Board of Supervisors favored Boutique Air. SeaPort Airlines had held the contract for the service until Jan. 15, when it abruptly suspended its subsidized EAS without the requisite 90-day advance notice leaving El Centro without any scheduled air service. The DOT then sought proposals for the route.
The DOT selected Mokulele for a two-year contract that begins May 1 and runs through April 30, 2018. The airline will receive a $2.44 million subsidy per year from the DOT.
Mokulele won a four-year $1.76 million contact in 2013 to provide flights between Waimea and Maui. McKinney said the company felt it was “doing a good job” there leading it to pursue another EAS contract.
The company is in the process of acquiring two additional planes to fly the four-times daily route between Imperial/El Centro and Los Angeles. The company known for flying nine-seat Cessna Grand Caravans between the Hawaiian Islands plans to stick with the turboprop aircraft for the route.
“The Cessna Grand Caravan has been an excellent platform for us, it’s still made, and it’s made in the U.S.,” he said. Creation of new jobs will be limited to pilots and mechanics as the company plans to outsource its ground station operations.
The airline announced the expansion Monday. Despite moving into the mainland market, it has no plans to reduce operations in Hawaii.
In fact, the state could see additional flights added to the more than 120 it currently flies between Oahu, Molokai, Maui and Hawaii Island via its 15 Cessna Grand Caravans. The airline is unable to service Kauai because of distance between Oahu and the Garden Isle, McKinney said.
“We’re investigating lots of different opportunities,” he said. … “I think there’s strategic places we are certainly looking at, such as adding frequency to some of our routes.”
To promote the new flight, every seat with no restrictions will be offered at $30 during the first month of service via Mokulele’s website, www.mokulele.com.
