Hilo flights likely to cost more - Hawaii Business

So the State of Hawaii plans to encourage air travel to Hilo by taxing it. Perhaps Ms. Mori should speak to the DOT about taking a remedial Economics 101 lesson.

alice wrote:

<quoted text>very true..and Hilo is not a tourist hotspot. It is a bore and is ind ecline economically.

waterloo canada??sounds like aKLONDIKE HOOKER PARADISE

It's all good, people. We're about to become a SPACEPORT!!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,531563,00...

Hawaii Could Become Launch Site for Space Tourism
Friday, July 10, 2009
HONOLULU — Space pioneers envision launching high-end Hawaii tourists from the sand to the stars, taking island-hopping to new heights.
Hawaii could become the first place where travelers can use the planes for real transportation. Planners envision planes taking off in one place, traveling through space, then landing in another, going from the Big Island to Oahu. Within a decade, space travelers could island hop from Hawaii to Japan in 45 minutes.
And promoters promise a unique perspective during the flight.
"Flying down the Hawaii island chain, it's a completely different view of the planet than you'll see when you launch from landlocked states," said Chuck Lauer, vice president of business development for Oklahoma City-based Rocketplane Global. "It's the blue planet view of the world."
Hawaii's tourism leaders recognize the potential for attracting visitors with the promise of space travel, but it's unclear whether Gov. Linda Lingle will release the licensing money at a time when the state is facing big budget problems and possible government employee layoffs. A new law authorizes the state to spend $500,000 to apply for a spaceport license from the federal government, which is the first step toward allowing commercial space travel from the islands.
Lingle has indicated she will either sign the legislation this month or let it become law without her signature. But she has the authority to withhold the money even after the bill becomes law.If the plan goes forward, tourists would pay $200,000 for a weeklong package including spaceflighttraining, resort accommodations and short test flights to simulate weightlessness.
At the vacation's finale, five voyagers would embark on a horizontal takeoff aboard a special rocket plane, climb to 40,000 feet before rockets fire, accelerate to 3,500 miles per hour, coast for a few minutes of weightlessness 62 miles above the Earth, flip over and then return to ground.
Jim Crisafulli, the state's director of aerospace development, is confident many people would come to Hawaii to fly to space. "They wouldn't bat an eye at spending that amount of money to fly to space," he said. "It's going to be a soul-energizing experience."
Hawaii could become the eighth state granted a spaceport license. The process will take about three years, meaning space flights wouldn't start earlier than 2012.
Hawaii would use existing runways on Oahu and the Big Island for its space program, which would use a rocket plane that looks like a mid-size business jet. The plane is still in the design phase, with actual construction expected to begin in a year and a half in Burns Flat, Okla.
The spaceport licensing process will involve studying the rocket plane's potential effects on the environment, said state Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert.
"I'm trying to stay as neutral and calm as possible on this," she said. "As we plan for the future, I agree that we should consider all opportunities, and hopefully the environmental impact statement will show that it is an opportunity."
Lauer said the space planes wouldn't harm the environment because they'll be powered by liquid oxygen and synthetic jet fuel.
Several space tourism companies, including Rocketplane, have shown interest in coming to Hawaii if they could, said John Strom, vice president of business development for Enterprise Honolulu, the Oahu economic development board. Those businesses' studies show they can turn a tidy profit if the Hawaii market opens.
Space tourists will come away with a different understanding of how fragile the earth is, said Strom, a private pilot.
"The higher you go, the smaller it gets," he said. "You definitely get a sense of the uniqueness of this fragile blue marble that we live on."

This only proves that government is a well oiled machine that has the courage to raise taxes and be sure that everybody pays there fair share. Now if you'll excuse me, Airforce 2 waiting for me on the tarmac.

Hhhm, a 50% price increase for a flight to Honolulu. If only my salary would go up by as much!:)

Hilo Reader wrote:

Hhhm, a 50% price increase for a flight to Honolulu. If only my salary would go up by as much!:)

When it does, I'll be ready to raise your taxes.

Well, at least now I know "Who were the lolos who stole my pakalolo."

If you are flying Hilo to Maui , I wonder if the old inter-island terminal is still working. Little building that literally had a gate next to the ticket counter and you carried your own baggage out to the plane. I must be getting old and sentimental.

What's the latest on this ballcraap? How is the state/DOT justifying the numbers? Will Hilo airport start providing perks at $19 a passenger? They don't even have a restaurant in that airport.

Amazing, at every other airport it is under a dollar at Hilo airport its $18.43. I am also amazed that they have the gaul to charge that rate for what a passenger sees at the airport. Their reason, business is slow. So instead of laying off and closing sections of the airport to consolidate and riding it out,(like a for profit business) the DOT raises the rates through the roof.
It would seem that someone somewhere wants the airport to close. Why else would they do what they are doing.

Westside Wind wrote:

<quoted text>
I'm sure you've contacted your mayor and legislative representatives concerning this, right?
Your representatives spend a great deal of time trying to increase the percentage of kona beans or mandating laws to restrict the use of Hawaiian fish names like Ahi. Nada's when it comes to the only viable entry point to Hilo.

It was the first thing I did, then I put my response on this forum. I hope everyone contacts their state legislators and the gov's representatives to let them know what you think. People may confuse Hilo's relaxed atmosphere with the doldrums. They miss the fact that Hilo is a town with deep roots and vitality that follows its own rhythm. Hilo deserves flights at competitive prices.

Funny how this increase passed by without anyone noticing it was even up for discussion.
Let's take a moment to look at the product we are paying for. Hilo International Airport, from the get go or should I say poorly maintained road entrance to the fact that most passengers are waiting up stairs next to the gates versus sitting in the somewhat comfortable holding area, we are all being charged for.
Then there's the on going renovations which result in little if any transformation.
I could see if these renovations resulted in providing the consumer easier access - such as planes that arrive on the same side as their baggage claim area.
How do these DOT employees keep their jobs?
If put up for bid a privately run business would probably be able to provide a much better product for the average consumer.
Someone wrote that the airport has to be self sufficient, then its time to consolidate and regroup, figure out what else can be done in the unused areas. Make the rent of those areas more affordable to potential business owners.
A dollar gained is better then none, especially if the space will end up sitting there anyway.
Our government officials need to get off their duffs and recognize such actions poisons the little tourism that our small businesses see as well as our local economy thus puts their jobs in jeopardy.
Wake up people....start complaining to those who were elected to look out for our best interest.
The Hilo Community deserves respect, especially from them!!!!

Years ago, FedEX decided to have their 767 planes fly directly from Hilo to Los Angeles. Rates to ship flowers, produce, fruits and fish boosted these industries with outstanding affordable rates. This practice continues till today.
Outside company's like FedEx have stepped to the plate to help the Big Island only to have our local government continue to burden an already high cost of living with this ridiculous fee hike.
No wonder the state government revenues keep declining.

The Grinch had been lying like anyother mainland scam artist would to the people....Read this :

Hawaii Girl wrote:
Grinchie
You are really stupid, learn how to spell. You probably have never been to KEAUHOU since you cannot even spell it correctly.

Grinchie
You could have corrected it yourself, but I really don't think a typo is relevent. I make em all the time, and there really is no way to correct spelling errors here you know.
But yeah, that typo destroys my credibility, because it PROVES that I have never been there! Yep, it sure does..

Just ask all the shops in the shopping center up the hill, oh wait, most of them are closed... Shucks

And now the truth :

Thursday Jul 9 2009 post 312:

Grinchie.
Expert touts rail's I live on the Big Island... I'm concerned about the state of Oahu. As Abercrombie said "Catch a cold on Oahua, the other Islands get Pneumonia". He was talking about economic recession in that case, and he is absolutely correct.

<quoted text> Saturday Jul 4 ,2009 post 333:

Grinchie wrote quoted text>
Yep, thats why gasoline inventories are up by 2% for the month of june, causing oil prices to decline. Ican't talk for Hawaii drivers at the moment, but here in the Bay Area, the streets are very quiet. As I said in a previous post, it's so quiet now that California is almost pleasant, and I can almost hear the BART trains when the wind is just right, instead of the traffic that was normal here a few months ago.

Jan 15, 2009 post 74:Grinchie United States
fedup wrote:
<quoted text>

Don't flame me, I don't live on Oahu.

check out the dates on each one...she lied to all of you from the begining....and you fools couldn't see it....she has a past history in the business of huge losses....there is no way in hell she can be here and there at the same time.....a MAINLAND SCAM ARTIST !....Wildman!...

Just for you information kiddo...IRS Has a question for you....Wheres the money you hid from
ENRON ?.........Inquiring minds wants to know....

Jackson wrote:

So the State of Hawaii plans to encourage air travel to Hilo by taxing it. Perhaps Ms. Mori should speak to the DOT about taking a remedial Economics 101 lesson.

well said