Mokulele Temporarily Grounded, Wins Lanai EAS Bid

Photo by Catherine Cluett Pactol

Last weekend, Mokulele Airlines grounded most of its fleet of planes, canceling flights for up to four days and stranding passengers across Hawaii. On Aug. 17, a letter to customers from Louis Saint-Cyr, president of Hawaii operations for Mokulele’s new managing company Surf Air Mobility, explained the cause of the service disruption as due to “potential discrepancies in the documentation of a recent landing gear servicing on one of our aircraft.”

A precautionary decision was made on Aug. 17 to halt most of its flights across the state while Mokulele conducted “thorough inspections” of its fleet. As the flights slowed, Molokai social media buzzed with residents desperately looking for flights and seeking boat rides to or from Maui – an increasingly popular method of transportation for increasingly frustrated Molokai residents. Even with resourceful boat captains, many on Molokai missed appointments, connecting flights, and more.

For example, Sustainable Coastlines usually comes to Molokai in August for a series of beach clean-ups and educational programming. This year, because of a lack of available flights, the environmental group was forced to cancel its Molokai August projects. They said they still hope to do a clean-up in Kalaupapa in September, however.

Mokulele was able to get flights up and running within a few days, and back up to “normal operations with roughly 100 flights” by Wednesday, Aug. 21, according to Saint-Cyr.

The temporary grounding came on the heels of a flight availability shortage earlier this month, when Mokulele’s 28-seater Saab aircraft went out of commission, leading to flights being booked out weeks in advance.

“Despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to find a replacement engine, extending this challenging situation,” wrote Saint-Cyr in a community letter regarding the Saab.

In the letter, Saint-Cyr explained that Mokulele is focusing on increasing its fleet of nine-seat Cessna Caravan aircraft, reducing Kona flights in exchange for more service to Lanai and Molokai, as well as rebuilding the flight schedule from September onwards.

Just before last weekend’s temporary grounding, Mokulele was awarded a lucrative federal subsidy to continue flight service to Lanai. The contract to provide Essential Air Service from the U.S. Dept. of Transportation will run from Sept. 1, 2024, until Aug. 31, 2026, and amounts to nearly $8 million over two years.

The subsidy was awarded after Mokulele filed a notice to terminate air service for Lanai back in December 2023, citing the unprofitability of the route. Receiving letters of support from Mayor Richard Bissen and State Senator Lynn DeCoite, Mokulele beat Pacific Air Charters for the bid. The subsidy will ensure that 63 weekly round trips continue to run from Lanai to Maui and Oahu.

While the subsidy will only directly affect the Lanai route, the federal Dept. of Transportation has imposed additional accountability factors for the airline. Mokulele will be required to report every 30 days on the percentage of their flights that arrive on-time, which is defined as within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. For example, if a 10 a.m. flight is rescheduled to 3 p.m., the flight is still considered five hours late.

For Molokai, the possibility of a federal subsidy for flights through the Essential Air Service program remains uncertain. Though Molokai is eligible for a subsidy, Mokulele would have to announce termination of service, as it did on Lanai, triggering the USDOT to open up a request for bids on a Molokai-specific subsidy. Mokulele officials said in the past that would be unlikely, as the volume of flights to Molokai keeps the route profitable for the airline.

Southern Airways, which used to run Mokulele, was acquired by Surf Air Mobility last year. More recently, in July, Saint-Cyr was appointed by Surf Air Mobility as the President of Hawaii Operations, which entails the oversight of Mokulele. Surf Air Mobility is a California-based company which seeks to transform regional flying by electrifying existing air fleets and bringing electric aircraft to market.

Meanwhile, other transportation options, like a county-run ferry, are being considered statewide. In an email to the Dispatch, the Hawaii Dept. of Transportation explained that they are continuing to support Maui County’s efforts to create a Molokai ferry service, which could include leveraging federal grants.