It’s hard to fathom just how vital air service is to some of the more remote communities in the US, and possibly none have suffered quite as much as Molokai and Lānaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands. Last week, the islands were cut off from the rest of the world for the second time in a year when flights operated by Mokulele (actually Southern Airways Express under the Mokulele name) 9-seat Cessna Grand Caravans were suspended due to maintenance concerns. This is no mere inconvenience in an place like this.
While those of you who have been to the rest of the Hawaiian islands that are open to the public know that there are plentiful flights on multiple airlines both to other islands and to the mainland, it is a completely different world on Molokai and Lānaʻi which lie between Oʻahu and Maui. Despite being in a similar predicament, the islands couldn’t be more different from each other.
Lānaʻi is a rich personʻs island. Literally. Nearly all of it is owned by Oracle founder Larry Ellison. It is also the home of two very fancy Four Seasons resorts. A little more than 3,000 people live on the island, and itʻs those resorts that have powered the islandʻs small economy ever since pineapple dried up and went to cheaper countries.
Molokai is the opposite with almost no reliance on tourism. As youʻve seen in my various trip reports here, Molokai is remote. It has one independent hotel, some condos, and thatʻs about it. This is an island thatʻs meant for the locals, and itʻs one of the only places that really supports a more traditional way of life for those who want it. Itʻs also much bigger than Lānaʻi with about 8,000 people.
When it comes to transport, neither place has many options. Lānaʻi has three daily flights to Kahului with another 7 to 8 over to Honolulu, all flown by Mokulele. This is Essential Air Service (EAS), but no subsidy had been required… until last year Now the feds have agreed to provide Mokulele with about $4 million a year to keep it going. Lānaʻi also has service from Lānaʻi Air on Pilatus PC-12s and Cessna SkyCouriers, but those are meant to transport resort guests in style from Honolulu. They arenʻt there for serving the local community.
On Molokai, there are actually two airports. The primary airport in Hoʻolehua has 10 or 11 daily to Kahului and 19 or 20 a day to Honolulu, all unsubsidized. Mokulele is the only game in town at this airport, and no other airline has flown in since Hawaiian shut down its regional operation during the pandemic. There are another 12x weekly down to Kalaupapa which is an isolated area on the northern side of the island where those with Hansenʻs Disease (leprosy) were forced to relocate for decades before there was a cure. Thatʻs a whole different issue down in Kalaupapa, so Iʻll ignore that for today.
Back in August and then again last week, Mokulele suspended service due to some vague maintenance inspection concern, putting the islands out of reach despite being easily visible from Oʻahu and Maui, less than 50 miles away. The people who live there rely on Mokulele to get to doctor appointments, go shopping, get to high school sporting events, you name it. Even while other neighbor islands have received more resources directly, Molokai and Lānaʻi remain just as dependent if not more on connections with the other islands.
So what happens when Mokulele shuts down? Not much. There is a twice weekly Young Brothers barge which brings in materials to Molokai from Honolulu. (Lānaʻi has one weekly barge.) Thereʻs also Kamaka Air which does run air cargo to the islands. Looks like you can ship 45 pounds for $33.28 right now. And yes, Lānaʻi still does have a ferry that goes over to Māʻalaea on Maui. Molokai lost its ferry link to Maui in 2016. That is really the extent of things.
Cancellations arenʻt the only problem here. There are also big delay issues, but itʻs hard to get exact numbers on that for such a small carrier. All you need to do is search online and youʻll find stories like this one talking about how grave a threat it is to the residents for service to be so unreliable.
How bad is this situation? The state of Hawaiʻi says that it will issue a “tender” for a never-ending charter contract to act as backup if Mokulele canʻt get its act together. Yes, it has such little trust that it is willing to pay a charter carrier to be a backup. Just let that sink in.
In the meantime, the people of Molokai and Lānaʻi just continue to try to live their lives the best they can despite all the disruptions. Itʻs not easy, and they deserve better than what theyʻre getting today.
15 comments on “Molokai and Lānaʻi Deserve Better as Air Service Trouble Leaves Them Stranded Again”
Always sad to see these places that are so reliant on even the smallest of air services not getting them because of various circumstances.
By the way Brett, somewhat off-topic to this article, but we’ve already had the first failed airline of 2025 in Malaysia’s True Air (formerly SKS Airways). Normally it would probably go into the Tomb of the Unknown Airline (like MYairline did a few years ago), but this one is interesting because they actually had an order for E2s at some point. I know it’s really really early, but it might deserve a full blurb for Airlines We Lost 2025, if only for the E2 order and how Southeast Asia rarely gets representation in the year-end obituaries.
This brings the philosophical question. Is access to air service a right?
Many people prefer to live way away from the city and other people. This ranges from people who live way out in the sticks to people in Alaska who live totally off the grid.
But then should they expect the state (or feds) to subsidize air service for their convenience and emergencies?
The state of California doesn’t pay tax dollars for air service so Cranky can get to doctor appointments.
Seems to me that some folks want to have their cake and eat it too. They want some traditional lifestyle, no tourists no outsiders, but when it comes time to need something then they want us to pay to get it to them, or get them to it.
And for the record I’ve been to Molokai so I have a personal understanding of that island.
I don’t mean to take this too political. Definitely don’t want some right left argument here, but I just wanted to add it for the discussion.
John G – I’ll point specifically to Molokai here where the service to MKK is EAS but it is unsubsidized. It’s not a huge market, but it’s one that can make money for one airline. It seems to me that if one airline is going into the market, then it should take on the responsibility of providing a reliable level of service.
But on the broader point, I say that yes, the government does have a responsibility to provide air service to places that are inaccessible otherwise. This includes Alaska and possibly some remote parts of the lower 48 like eastern Montana. That’s part of the social contract of being a part of the United States.
Remember Lanai is also home to a cat sanctuary
Lanai does have a ferry that goes to Maui
I’m an outsider and am probably missing something obvious but… Molokai and Lana’i are close enough to Honolulu that it seems like an island-hopping ferry “should” work to connect those islands (and perhaps others). It looks like a ferry was tried in the past but failed due to low demand.
Has the cost for air travel between the islands been so low historically that there just wasn’t much demand for an even cheaper (but much slower) method for public passenger transportation? A ferry might also serve as an intermediate option (in terms of cost & time) for cargo transportation, fitting between the plane & barge options.
To John G’s point above, I sympathize with the transportation challenges for those who live in rural/remote areas (and am NOT a “big city” person myself), but that’s part of the tradeoff that living in such areas entails, and there’s nothing stopping people from moving to areas with better economic opportunities & transportation (which has happened in the past 100+ years in most parts of the US, as the population has become increasingly urbanized).
Again, while trying to avoid direct politics… If transportation is going to be government subsidized (which is a separate debate, including government funding for roads/infrasturate/ports/airports/etc), how is the choice made to subsidize particular modes/routes over others? Call me a cynic, but I feel like most of these “rural transportation subsidy” projects are focused towards benefiting the most politically powerful company/voting bloc, not on spending taxpayers’ dollars most effectively.
I’m not an expert on the subject in any way, but here’s a video I watched a while back on why the ferry service didn’t work out: https://youtu.be/34Ojnyi9xLw
Kilroy – Oh the ferry… it’s a giant mess of a politicial problem. Just look up articles on the Hawaii Superferry to see how that got derailed.
There are other issues with a ferry. First of all it wouldn’t connect into the nation’s air transportation system so it’s fine in theory for local interisland but not beyond that. There is also the issue of the seas actually being quite rough between the islands, so it’s not a very pleasant experience.
Cranky – if you haven’t read the DOT docket for Kalaupapa EAS, you should. There’s a recent letter from the HI Health Dept talking about the necessity of the service and the way it’s needed including travel patterns of the Health Dept staff. It’s a very good read and makes a lot of the points that you make.
You can buy a ticket as a non-resort customer on Lana’i Air, but yes they are twice the price of Mokulele.
I’ve been to these islands, and flew there on Mokulele. I’m overall a big proponent of Essential Air Service (my air service consulting to a couple of EAS cities aside) but agree Hawaii is more “Essential” than anywhere else but perhaps Alaska which has different guidelines to account for more unique situations.
I hear Mokulele (and Southern) shut down over some suspected illegitimate parts found in their inventory so aircraft had to be checked to ensure certain parts were legitimate. Aircraft newly delivered to them weren’t impacted because presumably they haven’t been through whatever maintenance cycle would replace or repair that part. It didn’t get a lot of mainland news coverage because, to be honest, Southern canceling flight after flight isn’t news. Nearly every community they serve is trying to get rid of them for horrific reliability. Heck, in Muskegon they canceled their flights on their last day of service and even stranded their own staff who was there to close down the station and take their IT equipment out.
Perhaps in Hawaii there is a need to, as the state is trying with its charter tender, split the service between two carriers – assuming that it would be feasible economically.
NedsKid – I’ve read the docket. I didn’t want to get into it here, because it really is a different issue than anything else. That one has no real demand, but it’s about a promise made long ago. Still, for the handful of people there, the medical connectivity is so important, and we are failing them.
You could literally charter a 172 in an emergency, or perhaps the Coast Guard provides backup as it does in Alaska. If that fails, my grandfather kayaked from Oahu to Molokai years ago, so I imagine a regular * boat will do.
Curious how long it took your grandpa to kayak!! Was it something he did regularly? *wow!
Are there any seaplanes in Hawaii? Seems like those would be an obvious choice to charter in this situation or set up an air taxi service like in Alaska.
Jason – Seaplanes don’t work very well because there aren’t really protected harbors where they could regularly operate. I mean, sure, Pearl Harbor maybe, but that has a little problem with the US military being there.
Kind of a classic reaping sowing situation