On Dec. 13, a Princeville resident wrote a letter to the editor requesting balanced coverage on the Hawaii Superferry. She wanted an examination beyond what she saw as the two main complaints: homeless people relocating from O‘ahu and an increase
On Dec. 13, a Princeville resident wrote a letter to the editor requesting balanced coverage on the Hawaii Superferry.
She wanted an examination beyond what she saw as the two main complaints: homeless people relocating from O‘ahu and an increase in drugs on the island.
Whales, mercifully, were not mentioned, nor should they be. At this point, it’s fairly obvious that the state is not going to require an Environmental Impact Study, and HSF sure isn’t going to open up the vault to do one on its own.
No, the humpbacks will be left to their own devices, relying on sonar honed in these waters since long before the Polynesians — or the Menehune — ever set foot on Hawaiian soil.
Maybe one will get hit, maybe one won’t. Fact is, whales aren’t going to sink the Superferry.
Neither will drugs, and neither will the homeless.
What could sink the Superferry, however, is something no one seems to be talking about — simple economics. Right now, one-way, off-peak fares for Maui and Kaua‘i, the two islands set to launch service to and from O‘ahu in July, start (if you buy online in advance) at $42, exactly $3 more than a normal ticket on go!, and other interisland carriers when they feel like matching.
At least for now. HSF director of business development Terry O’Halloran — and many others — know the fare war will eventually end. And when it does, O’Halloran says, Superferry’s already viable prices will look even better.
Let’s take a look: To bring a vehicle less than 20 feet long, it’s at least $55; bigger than that starts at $90. A motorcycle, which you can rent for less per day (factoring in a return ticket), is $30.
Did I mention that the trip takes three hours? And that’s only once the boat has cleared the Nawiliwili Harbor. There’s still the time its going to take to load 110 vehicles and 400 passengers (less than half capacity, which Superferry officials estimate to be the average), and off-load them upon arrival.
By the way, off-peak days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, meaning a bargain “weekend getaway” on the Superferry has to include at least Friday and Monday off from work.
Furthermore, the boat will spend every night in Honolulu, meaning those who had thoughts of taking the Family Truckster to Maui for a weekend (for $55 to O‘ahu and another $55 to Maui) better think again. Coming or going, Neighbor Island-hoppers with a destination other than O‘ahu are going to have to spend one night there anyway, at least until the second boat arrives for Big Island service and a second daily round-trip to Maui.
If that’s not enough (ol’ Clark Griswold was intrepid, to say the least), don’t forget to factor in the $110 base price for the return, running your tab to $220 for 12 total hours on the open ocean and untold others in port.
But we all know the Griswolds never traveled alone. Family of four? Add another $504 (unless both kids are under 2 and qualify for the $15 fare, in which case, add only $288.) So now we’re looking at around $724. ($508 for the family with infants, but what kind of family with two children under 2 wants to spend 12 hours at sea?) As far as resident travel goes, the Superferry is an O‘ahu-centric service. Kauaians will not be shuttling over to Maui or the Big Island for fun.
And while planners have built surfboards into the pricing structure (free on a car rack, $20 to $25 otherwise), they’re underestimating how many surfers will pay those prices when most interisland wave-chasers will either have boards already there, or buddies with boards to borrow.
Which brings us to small business and produce farmers, a segment the Superferry is going after pretty hard.
But a 40-foot truck is going to be $850 fully loaded, $510 if empty.
That’s a lot of papayas.
Especially since, at least on Kaua‘i, most agriculture is dominated by major companies that already have their own shipping arrangements, like Kauai Coffee and Gay & Robinson. And Kaua‘i is the least fertile of all the islands — how many local growers are going to be able to offer something that the other islands don’t already have? Furthermore, while Young Brothers bumped less-than-container load shipping by 24 percent and implemented a fuel surcharge, Superferry is only in a position to take some of that unwanted business if the shipper is will to travel with the goods being shipped.
So now that we’ve ruled out sole-proprietorships and small operators, Superferry is going to be wholly dependent on mid-sized businesses (not shipping, but) traveling with goods for same-day shipping on a routine basis to fulfill its commercial market segment.
Good luck.
In terms of agriculture alone, it could work for the Big Island, or maybe Maui, which only reaffirms what many already suspect: As soon as things go south, Kaua‘i will be the first market cut.
Aside from economics and a lack of exports, Kaua‘i is remote, separated from the rest of the main islands by the treacherous Kai‘ei‘ewaho Channel, a crossing that can be so tumultuous that occasional cruise ships used to turn back, before cruise ships grew to the size of aircraft carriers. The Superferry, while big at 353 feet, is still just over a third as large as the “Pride of Hawai‘i,” NCL’s latest island hopper.
O’Halloran says the ships, made by Austal Ships, are designed for rough seas and have been replacing ferries around the world that operate in less-than-optimal conditions.
O’Halloran also nixes a popular rumor that the Superferry has a contract with the military to move personnel and/or vehicles between the islands. Neither, he said, does the company have a deal at this time with other governmental agencies.
In the future, maybe, but there’s really no reason. The Superferry, sanctioned by Public Utilities Commission, can’t cut a deal with anyone. Everyone pays the same rates.
“By PUC rules, our pricing has to be equitable for everybody,” he said. “We can’t do special deals.” The military was explored early on as a potential market segment, O’Halloran said, but not anymore. “If the military chooses to use our ferry, we’ll accept them as any regular paying customer.” So that leaves only one type of traveler that the Superferry has not addressed, at least not publicly, and the only one that might be able to save it: The Cruise Ship Tourist.
That industry is booming, and the only one eating from a plate large enough to steal from. The Superferry is in a position to offer the same thing the interisland cruise lines offer, only cheaper and with more freedom. In the same vein, the Superferry could attract airline tourists who might choose to see all four main islands instead of splitting their 10 days between two at most. It would require an aggressive repackaging, a strong Internet campaign and major Mainland marketing dollars, but it just may flesh out something the Superferry desperately needs: a niche.
Cruises, for all their expenses, don’t provide a lot of freedom. It’s off the boat at Nawiliwili one afternoon (but you might want to come back for dinner — after all, you already paid for it…) and back to sea the following afternoon.
(Don’t bother checking out a hotel, you already paid for your room to the tune of about a $1,000.)The intrepid cruise-shippers will venture out from the pool on A deck, but it’s astounding how many pay all this money to see the Hawaiian Islands and never make it past Anchor Cove Mall. They go home and tell friends and family their version of Kaua‘i, which is limited to Nawiliwili, which rivals only Port Allen in terms of scenic value.
The tourism board must love that.
Here the Superferry could offer — at a competitive price — interisland cruises of the new millennium, to the new-age traveler.
Like Maui? Why don’t you stay for a few days. There’ll be another boat. One a day, in fact.
Stay in a hotel, eat at a restaurant. Go to the beach. Rent a car and drive up Haleakala. Charter a boat and snorkel Molikini. We’ll pick you up whenever you’re ready.
It works the other way, too.
Think Kaua‘i stinks? You can leave in less than a day.
And don’t worry about hurting anyone’s feelings. If you’ve read the opinion pages lately, it’s clear they don’t want you here anyway.
