COURTESY MOKULELE AIRLINES
Since go! Airlines’ demise
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Mokulele Airlines, which began the first-ever commercial service out of Kalaeloa Airport on July 1, is planning to add two more destinations later this month from the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station in West Oahu.
The local commuter carrier has been offering three round-trip flights a day to Kahului out of Kalaeloa. On Oct. 20, Mokulele plans to add three daily round trips between Kalaeloa and Hoolehua, Molokai, and two daily round trips between Kalaeloa and Kapalua, Maui.
In addition, Mokulele will add two other neighbor island flights beginning Oct. 20. It will fly twice a day between Kapalua and Molokai as well as between Kapalua and Hana, Maui.
Mokulele also is looking to expand to California and New Mexico through federally subsidized essential air service contracts after experiencing success with the EAS flights it began operating in September 2013 between Kamuela-Waimea on Hawaii island and Kahului.
The EAS program provides federal subsidies to airlines to encourage them to provide service for small and underserved communities.
Mokulele started offering two federally subsidized daily round-trip flights between Kamuela-Waimea and Kahului and then added a third unsubsidized daily route between Kamuela-Waimea and Kahului in June because of the success of the route.
"The reception has been so great by the (Kamuela-Waimea) community," Mokulele Chief Executive Officer Ron Hansen said. "We believe we do such a great job with essential air service that we decided to apply for some of these routes coming available on the mainland."
Hansen said Mokulele is waiting to hear on applications it filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation for California routes between Visalia and Los Angeles and between Merced and Oakland, as well as a New Mexico route between Silver City and Albuquerque.