LIHU‘E — About 30 crew members and a half dozen Americans were given a taste of Kaua‘i aloha, Friday afternoon. Hainan Airlines was in the process of shuttling three new aircraft it purchased from Boeing in Washington state and the
LIHU‘E — About 30 crew members and a half dozen Americans were given a taste of Kaua‘i aloha, Friday afternoon.
Hainan Airlines was in the process of shuttling three new aircraft it purchased from Boeing in Washington state and the Lihu‘e Airport was a perfect refueling stop en route to Hainan Island in China.
Leslie Scales of Air Service Hawai‘i, the servicing agent for the plane at Lihu‘e Airport, said this was the first time for the airline to use Lihu‘e as a stopping point.
She explained that the Boeing 737-800 aircraft is similar to the aircraft formerly used by Aloha Airlines, but has a bigger passenger load.
Scales said she contacted Sue Kanoho of the Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau when conversation with the airline revealed the possibility of it making a stop on Kaua‘i.
Unfortunately, the original plan had to be re-arranged due to paperwork on the Boeing end.
But the first of three aircraft touched down Friday afternoon and slowly and silently taxied to the Lihu‘e Airport North Ramp where it was parked overnight.
“That North Ramp is really good because it can accommodate bigger aircraft as well as some of the overflow parking when there are a lot of planes,” Scales said.
Kanoho was off-island when the first plane touched down, but arranged to have Kaua‘i acquaintance bags prepared so each crew member as well as representatives from Global Aircraft Services could have one.
George Costa and Nalani Brun, of the county Office of Economic Development, accompanied the Air Service Hawai‘i crew to offer a lei greeting to each passenger who deplaned for an overnight stay.
The visitors were also presented with a Kaua‘i Visitors Bureau-prepared goodie bag, one commenting that this is his first trip to Kaua‘i.
A Kaua‘i Island Tour bus awaited the guests with plans for a trip to Kaua‘i’s Westside and South Shore including a visit to Koke‘e before the delegation would enjoy a made-to-order Chinese meal at the Hong Kong Cafe in Wailua.
A translator who traces her roots to Hainan Island was on hand to help explain the island and a Kaua‘i Island Tour representative said the firm would be handling its first Chinese tour from a group aboard a cruise ship next week.
The Air Service Hawai‘i ground crew said if all three aircraft arrived at the same time, it would have been very exciting, but due to production, the next Hainan Airlines Boeing 737-800 is scheduled to touch down at Lihu‘e Airport for refueling next week.
From Lihu‘e Airport, the crew will fly to Majuro in the Marshall Islands for another refueling before touching down on Hainan Island, China.
As the guests left for their whirlwind tour of the island, an airport maintenance worker said it is not unusual for airline companies to utilize Lihu‘e Airport as a refueling stop because the Honolulu Airport is very busy and sometimes the companies simply cannot get room there.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com
