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Dunno, Hotzcatz. I was just thinking about the business model they have, relying heavily on tourist traffic, which supports the most extensive ferry system in the country.
Differences I see in our situations...
Their routes are in something like the 10 - 40 mile range, with transit times of 30 - 60 minutes. It's easy for tourists to commit to them. (Wait times often exceed crossing times, to tell the truth) We'd have longer routes and longer crossing times
Their routes are all very scenic due to the way land and mountains wrap around Puget Sound. Our routes would be more open-water in nature.
Although their ships are designed to handle heavy weather in the Sound, I imagine the equipment needed for our routes would need to be more robust, yes.
The abundant wildlife in Puget Sound... killer whales, puffins, bald eagles, dolphins, etc... are a big part of the appeal to the tourists. Wildlife spotting on our routes would be much more marginal.
I'd LOVE it if we had inter-island ferry service. However I think any discussion about how to implement a modern ferry system in Hawai'i could only be justified if sufficient tourist traffic could be developed to help support the system financially. Like I said, I think the resident population is just too small to justify the investment on its own transportation needs alone.
I suspect as gasoline continues to get more expensive, folks will rely on their cars less and less and use more public transportation. If the inter-island ferries only had to carry passengers, mopeds and bicycles, then they could be smaller and more economical to operate, perhaps. Getting a smaller passenger only ferry to operate between Oahu, Lanai, Maui, Molokai and eventually Kahoolawe (if/when that gets populated again) would be useful and probably workable. Adding Kauai and Hawaii to that route would probably mean a larger boat because of the longer open ocean area involved as well as the channels they'd have to cross. Hmm, I wonder if a passenger barge would work? Fit out a barge with amenities for passengers and just have it towed like any other barge? That would save on having a separate engine for each passenger ship. Perhaps a true passenger ferry for the easier routes and a passenger barge for the longer open ocean ones. Although, I've not been on a barge in the open ocean, I don't know if it would be a viable ride for humans or not. Perhaps they'd all be seasick.
Also, this has to be done at a price which will seem a bargain compared to the airlines since an airplane ride gets you there in forty five minutes or so. If you'll be spending eight to ten hours on a barge between Hawaii and Maui, you'd not want to have to pay all that much for it unless the trip itself could be made into the destination such as the Washington ferries.
And then there's cruxes 2 through 10 - the insurance, and then there's the maintenance, and then there's the cost of fuel ($1.50 - $2 more a gallon than on the mainland) and then there's the cost of the plane (even a basic well-used 150 is >$100K these days) and the fact that you cannot legally charge someone for passage, and the fact that flying regularly over open water is not for wimps. And that keeping your license up as you get older becomes more and more problematic.
SIDEBAR- One of my personal heroes, Burt Rutan, who designed such breakthrough aircraft as the round-the-world Voyager, and the Virgin Galactic Starship, has not been able to pilot his own planes for almost 10 years due to a heart condition. That sucks.
IOW, that is not likely to be a popular solution nohow.
A Cessna 150 is only like 15k, 100k is for a cherry 206 with floats. The most I have seen a cessna 150 for was about 20-25k and that is for a pretty cherry or near brand new one. I would imagine they are coming down in price with the economy. Insurance is not required if you own it outright and you only fly friends and NOT for hire and split the operating and prorated share of the hourly rate on the plane to recover the initial purchase. There is maintence but generally its just an annual which is less than 1000$ on a C-150. Fuel is a little expensive but not terrible in a C-150. The only crux would be tie downs or hangar space at servicable air ports and even if there were no rental cars you could keep a car there as long as it was a fenced off run way if you planed to make the trip regularly. Or there is the floats option as well that way you could land in open water if something went wrong.
This option would only work if you liked to fly anyways, over time it would be much cheaper than flying commercial depending on how often you hoped.
Also, this has to be done at a price which will seem a bargain compared to the airlines since an airplane ride gets you there in forty five minutes or so. If you'll be spending eight to ten hours on a barge between Hawaii and Maui
That about sums it up. Airlines are just cheaper, faster, and more convenient.
I don't think many tourists want to fly 8-10 hours to Honolulu, only to get on a barge for another 8-10 hours. It would have to be super cheap, and even than, a tourist probably wouldn't find it cost-effective.
I think friends with an airplane would be better than owning the airplane yourself. I've known folks with planes and flown inter-island with them as they were going, but the little planes have a whole bunch of drawbacks. It's roughly $50 in fuel to fly a Cessna 150 to Maui (hour and a half airtime one way) and about $70 to fly it to Hawaii from Oahu. You've got a carrying capacity of about 500 pounds. Add in fuel weight of 150 pounds, that leaves 350 pounds for pilot, passenger(s) and baggage. So, unless the pilot also wants to go inter-island, it's not that much more for a person to fly commercial. If the pilot has a reason to go inter-island, then the airfare can be split between them and it comes out half price - providing we only use the price of fuel verses commercial airfare as the consideration for cost analysis.
Perhaps tourists would want to take the inter-island barge if it were tricked out with a fake beach, some little tropical huts and a whale watch platform? Perhaps if the trip were some sort of destination in itself, then they'd want to go. And then, I suppose, the barge folks could charge more so there goes the inexpensive inter-island travel. Sigh! Small sailboats are inexpensive to travel between the islands but they take hours and require a certain level of skill and preparedness.
I think friends with an airplane would be better than owning the airplane yourself. I've known folks with planes and flown inter-island with them as they were going, but the little planes have a whole bunch of drawbacks. It's roughly $50 in fuel to fly a Cessna 150 to Maui (hour and a half airtime one way) and about $70 to fly it to Hawaii from Oahu. You've got a carrying capacity of about 500 pounds. Add in fuel weight of 150 pounds, that leaves 350 pounds for pilot, passenger(s) and baggage. So, unless the pilot also wants to go inter-island, it's not that much more for a person to fly commercial. If the pilot has a reason to go inter-island, then the airfare can be split between them and it comes out half price - providing we only use the price of fuel verses commercial airfare as the consideration for cost analysis.
Perhaps tourists would want to take the inter-island barge if it were tricked out with a fake beach, some little tropical huts and a whale watch platform? Perhaps if the trip were some sort of destination in itself, then they'd want to go. And then, I suppose, the barge folks could charge more so there goes the inexpensive inter-island travel. Sigh! Small sailboats are inexpensive to travel between the islands but they take hours and require a certain level of skill and preparedness.
Also part of flying your own plane is you can do what ever you want and the experience of flying it yourself, if you want to over fly the island and look around you can, or if you want to overfly Nihau you can because your at the controls (unless its restricted air space but I doubt it, that would take some serious politcal clout to get a no fly zone over your already private island). It gives you freedom as well as transportation, you dont have to deal with the major air ports and even if you do land at a bigger air port you dont get off in a busy terminal you just hop out of the plane and go. Also you can fly within the same island and avoid some of the bad roads like the road to Hana, its fun to do a few times but that would get old after a while and to just fly would be nice.
Also part of flying your own plane is you can do what ever you want and the experience of flying it yourself, if you want to over fly the island and look around you can, or if you want to overfly Nihau you can because your at the controls (unless its restricted air space but I doubt it, that would take some serious politcal clout to get a no fly zone over your already private island). It gives you freedom as well as transportation, you dont have to deal with the major air ports and even if you do land at a bigger air port you dont get off in a busy terminal you just hop out of the plane and go. Also you can fly within the same island and avoid some of the bad roads like the road to Hana, its fun to do a few times but that would get old after a while and to just fly would be nice.
Are you familiar with hawaii and it's airspace or are you looking at some maps an making up scenerios you think might work without any reality of facts?
Hawaii has the lowest amount of private aircraft of all 50 states, and there's a reason for that. Take some time to research a bit about the cost of private aviation on the islands and you'll come away with a new position on this. Just like someone said, there are over 30 airfields listed on navigation charts of vary vintage that do not exist at all anymore. The majority of airports are state owned and have you checked their fee structure lately? Besides fuel, don;t forget to factor in cost of landing and departure fees at each airport, ramp fees for parking the aircraft, service fees, taxes, and the additioanl inspections because your on a salt air island out in the pacific.
Also most of those small "airfields" are located in out of the way places so you hop out of the airplane and now what? (and to answer your question on restricted airspace, there are a host of restricted airpaces and restricted flight patterns all over Hawaii duw to military and other governement limits, so just flying where you want can be more like following a driving course corridor of cones)
Oahu is very regulated about where the planes can fly. The other islands aren't as fussy but there are still very limited landing areas. Most of the small private planes are land at Honolulu International on the same landing strip as the commercial airlines. And there is a lot of commercial planes landing all the time.
There are probably less than a dozen small planes out at Dillingham and I think those are the only two landing spots on Oahu. There is/was one seaplane which used the Keehi seaplane runway. Other than that one seaplane runway, I don't know if there are any other flat enough bodies of water to land on. Most of the water is open ocean and is usually too rough for small planes.
Maui has the big airport and there might be something at Hana? Molokai has just the one at Kaunakakai, doesn't it? Although there may have been something down at the leper colony. Lanai has one small one. Kahoolawe has none?, Big Island has Hilo for commercial & small aircraft and that tower shuts down around dinner time, Kailua-Kona is also where big commercial planes land as well as little ones, Opelu is just a landing strip, no tower, no gas, no rental cars, a few cows nearby as well as some wind turbines. Kamuela may or may not have fuel, I think maybe a fuel truck will go there. They sort of have a tower but no rental cars, restaurant, etc.
Not really enough of a reason to keep a private plane. No pancake breakfast fly ins, no barn storming, no place to fly in and eat, etc. It is similar with boats, so it's not just airplanes.
Are you familiar with hawaii and it's airspace or are you looking at some maps an making up scenerios you think might work without any reality of facts?
Hawaii has the lowest amount of private aircraft of all 50 states, and there's a reason for that. Take some time to research a bit about the cost of private aviation on the islands and you'll come away with a new position on this. Just like someone said, there are over 30 airfields listed on navigation charts of vary vintage that do not exist at all anymore. The majority of airports are state owned and have you checked their fee structure lately? Besides fuel, don;t forget to factor in cost of landing and departure fees at each airport, ramp fees for parking the aircraft, service fees, taxes, and the additioanl inspections because your on a salt air island out in the pacific.
Also most of those small "airfields" are located in out of the way places so you hop out of the airplane and now what? (and to answer your question on restricted airspace, there are a host of restricted airpaces and restricted flight patterns all over Hawaii duw to military and other governement limits, so just flying where you want can be more like following a driving course corridor of cones)
The salt water air is the biggest problem which totally destroys planes if you dont hangar them in a climate controled hangar and dehumidify the air. So flying your own plane is probably not feasable like it is in Alaska. Might be better to have your own boat to go interisland, something small and really fast with a good GPS.
Oahu is very regulated about where the planes can fly. The other islands aren't as fussy but there are still very limited landing areas. Most of the small private planes are land at Honolulu International on the same landing strip as the commercial airlines. And there is a lot of commercial planes landing all the time.
There are probably less than a dozen small planes out at Dillingham and I think those are the only two landing spots on Oahu. There is/was one seaplane which used the Keehi seaplane runway. Other than that one seaplane runway, I don't know if there are any other flat enough bodies of water to land on. Most of the water is open ocean and is usually too rough for small planes.
Maui has the big airport and there might be something at Hana? Molokai has just the one at Kaunakakai, doesn't it? Although there may have been something down at the leper colony. Lanai has one small one. Kahoolawe has none?, Big Island has Hilo for commercial & small aircraft and that tower shuts down around dinner time, Kailua-Kona is also where big commercial planes land as well as little ones, Opelu is just a landing strip, no tower, no gas, no rental cars, a few cows nearby as well as some wind turbines. Kamuela may or may not have fuel, I think maybe a fuel truck will go there. They sort of have a tower but no rental cars, restaurant, etc.
Not really enough of a reason to keep a private plane. No pancake breakfast fly ins, no barn storming, no place to fly in and eat, etc. It is similar with boats, so it's not just airplanes.
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