Hilo to Kona and Back Again

[pzarquon]

Island Air is set to start its Hilo (ITO)-Kona (KOA) service this weekend. A 21-minute flight (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Dec/29/bz/bz04p.html) instead of a 2-hour drive (though you have to add a chunk of time for airport check-in and security procedures).

There are quite a few Hilo-Kona commuters, so I can see it succeeding on commuters alone. But since Kona is now the preferred non-stop destination for flights to the Big Island from the West Coast, it'll be a conveninent 'jump' for tourists to make when they want to see the volcano, but don't want to stay on the Hilo side.

Actually, I wonder if this flight means more or less business for Hilo hotels? Hmm.

[Miulang]

Island Air is set to start its Hilo (ITO)-Kona (KOA) service this weekend. A 21-minute flight (http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Dec/29/bz/bz04p.html) instead of a 2-hour drive (though you have to add a chunk of time for airport check-in and security procedures).

There are quite a few Hilo-Kona commuters, so I can see it succeeding on commuters alone. But since Kona is now the preferred non-stop destination for flights to the Big Island from the West Coast, it'll be a conveninent 'jump' for tourists to make when they want to see the volcano, but don't want to stay on the Hilo side.

Actually, I wonder if this flight means more or less business for Hilo hotels? Hmm.
I think this is gonna benefit the touristas more than the locals who commute between Hilo and Kona. A RT still is going to cost about $40. If you work 5 days a week, that's $200 right there. I dunno if anyone spends $200 a week for gas to commute between Hilo-Kona except maybe somebody who drives a bus. :rolleyes:

[kimo55]

Since I am just an occasional visitor to Hawaii island, I'd rather take the drive. very scenic and great shops to stop at along the way.

[pzarquon]

I absolutely love that drive. A trip to Hapuna Beach, Waimea, or Kona was almost a weekly pilgrimmage when I was a student at UH Hilo. But I think if I had to do it every day, it could get old. Not to mention possibly deadly. I've had lots of near-misses on that route, mostly thanks to poor passing by oncoming cars (whose drivers clearly have poor depth perception).

I don't think $200 a week on gas for a daily Hilo-Kona commuter is that improbable. Especially if they get caught in that Kona rush hour! And that $40 round trip isn't bad... considering I knew people who commuted daily from the neighbor islands to Oahu!

Sadly, this is a prop-plane route, and those things scare the willies out of me. Also, depending on how the plane traverses the Big Island, there are probably quite a few places along the route where discovery and recovery after a crash is pretty difficult.

(Sure, a jumbo jet crash is messier... but generally quicker!)