The Maui Goodness

We’ve traveled on Island Air many times, which is our fault.  They often have the lower prices, and that’s what sucks us in.  Never again will any of us fly between any Hawaiian Islands with Island Air.

HISTORY

In the past, we’ve flown with Island Air and incurred long delays lasting up to 6 hours!  If you’re deciding between another carrier and Island Air, you will probably get there faster with a stop over and 1 hour layover than with a direct flight on Island Air.

RECENT EXPERIENCE

Our flight to Kauai was delayed by 2 hours without notice.  I mean, no one told us anything and instead had us sit and wait with no idea of what was going on.  Then, on our flight back to Maui, we arrived at the ticket check in counter to find a sign saying our flight was cancelled and that no one could check us in for an hour and 20 minutes.  We sat and waited and couldn’t go into the airport till we had a boarding pass.  Finally, we got checked in and got to our gate with no one there.  25 minutes after our flight was supposed to leave, a message over the intercom explained that our flight was delayed by over 4 HOURS!  Meanwhile, other flights with Island Air to Maui continued to board in front of us throughout the day.

We spoke with a supervisor (a major ordeal to obtain an audience with, but we had the time.)  The only solution he came up with was to buy a ticket with a rival airline!  Yes, it’s true!  The supervisor of Island Air told us if we really need to get to Maui in a timely manner, we should consider buying a ticket with another airline.

We also overheard a TSA employee mention that most locals know to use Hawaiian Airlines because of their punctuality.  He said, “It’s worth the extra few bucks to make sure you get there.”  So our day concluded with over 6 hours of delays and cancellations.

THE FUTURE

It pains us to watch Hawaii businesses go out of business in these harsh economic times, but if Island Air dies, (with a smile) I’ll chalk it up as Economic Darwinism.

Billionaire David Murdock has plans to build over 200 wind turbines near Polihua Beach on the island of Lanai, Hawaii.  The power generated by the windfarm would be sent by underwater cables to the island of Oahu, our most populated island.  In this move, Murdock would recoup some of his losses from his struggling Lanai resorts as well as provide Oahu with a large amount of much needed renewable energy.

As with any change to the islands, residents and visitors are complaining about Castle & Cooke’s building of these windmills.  It seems that with any change, for good or bad, people become restless and upset.  But when you look at the project rationally and objectively,  it benefits everyone affected.

• Lanai Residents – Jobs will be made and the island will prosper with additional revenues.
• Maui County – Maui and Hawaii’s goal of using 70 percent green energy by 2030 will come closer to completion.
• Honolulu, Oahu – Honolulu will become less dependent on foreign oil and coal for their power needs.
• David Murdock and the Castle & Cooke Company – The new profits will make up for their disastrous losses over the years.
• Hawaii Visitors – The resorts of Lanai will remain open and Lanai will continue to have ferry services.

With time, our islands need to change.  It’s a sad thing that the Lanai is no longer accurately called the Pineapple Isle.  But as the world becomes smaller and the economies of each nation become further intertwined, the only way to survive is to acclimate and grow with the changes.  In light of all the bad decisions effecting Hawaii (overdevelopment, pollution, loss of Aloha), we believe that this is one of the better moves by a large corporation.

Tommy Bahama’s Tropical Cafe in Wailea, South Maui, threw one of the best parties of the year to start off the Maui Film Festival. On Wednesday the 17th of June, 2009, this notoriously fun party attracted all kinds of celebrities, vacationers, and local Maui residents.

Some of the celebrities that enjoyed the warm night were Eddie Murphy, Justin Chambers of Grey’s Anatomy, and the director of Cash Crop, Adam Ross.

With a full bar (including an Ice Bar) and some delicious Pupus (appetizers) all at the low price of $50 for admission, it’s easy to see why this event was so popular.  Some of the delicious Pupus included crab claws, jumbo shrimp, mussels, chili orange chicken, Thai peanut beef, rosemary lamb chops, and caviar on toast.

Plenty of specialty cocktails were made with Tommy Bahama’s signature rums being poured through the ice sculpture. Stella Artois sponsored the event with tasty beer flowing from multiple taps around the restaurant.  Along with great drinks, we enjoyed some incredible live music on the patio.

Adding to the romance and excitement we’re a couple of Cirque du Soleil style performers on stilts walking around with masks and wings.Overall this was the best value and the most fun of the many parties surrounding the events at the Maui Film Festival in 2009.  We’ll be here again next year to share more pictures and news.

Thank you Natalie Brown for allowing us to use your photos.  See more of these photos at Tommy Bahama Maui. Mahalo!