New airport fueling trucks help replace aging fleet

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Signature Flight Support’s Jeffery Moken, Eric Hietala, Eric Hill and Noe Gonzales, the Kauai station manager, flank Kahu Jade Waialeale-Battad during the blessing of two new, 10,000-gallon-capacity fuel trucks Thursday at Lihue Airport. Behind the parked private jet, an older, 10,000-gallon truck sits ready for duty.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Lisa Kimura, second from right, and Noe Gonzales, right, of Signature Flight Support, unveil the truck name on the new, 10,000-gallon-capacity vehicle as Jeffery Moken, Eric Hietala, Eric Hill and Kahu Jade Waialeale-Battad watch Thursday during the blessing of the new trucks at the Lihue Airport.

Dennis Fujimoto / The Garden Island

Guests to the Signature Flight Support truck blessing watch as Francis Elizondo of Honolulu operates the lift system on one of the new fuel trucks that was blessed Thursday evening at Lihue Airport.

LIHUE — Lisa Kimura of Signature Flight Support said using the new fuel trucks makes a difference in how the company services aircraft.

“We used one of the two new trucks yesterday to get a feel for how it operates,” Kimura said Thursday evening outside the Signature offices in the Lihue Airport commuter terminal. “It made the work of servicing the airplane a lot faster than when using the older trucks.”

Signature Flight Support, which services a variety of aircraft including commercial flights, private jets and helicopters, blessed and dedicated two new fuel trucks that will take the place of older equipment.

“We’ve been here just two years,” said Eric Hietala, Signature’s regional vice president from Los Angeles. “This investment represents our commitment to this station, and it’s a good start for Kauai.”

Each of the trucks costs around $500,000, and has a 10,000-gallon fuel capacity with the latest technology in fuel quality control and operator safety features.

“This represents one-third of our fleet,” Hietala said. “We have six trucks with capacities of 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 gallons. The trucks these replace are about 30 years old. They have more features than some of the trucks we have in Los Angeles.”

The vehicles represent the state-of-the-art fuel delivery, said Raul Reyes, the GSC supervisor for Signature. Filtration systems ensure the highest quality fuel going into the aircraft. And the latest in operator safety, including multiple shutoff switches, video cameras and automated safety features, make operating the vehicle safer.

“It even features an air conditioned cab,” Reyes said. “Driving this is far easier than a regular work truck.”

Officiated by Jade Waialeale-Battad, the blessing creating a stronger sense of ohana for the Kauai station, headed by Noe Gonzales. The employees came up with names for the two vehicles — Lokahi and Ola Kupono — representing stronger bonding, togetherness and righteousness.

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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.

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