Aussie_ From Australia, joined Dec 2000, 1765 posts, RR: 5 Posted (6 years 2 months 3 weeks 1 day 10 hours ago) and read 4294 times:
10 February 2007
Go! (Operated by Mesa Airlines) YV 1002
Honolulu (HNL) - Hilo (ITO)
CRJ-200ER N651BR
Seat 2A (select your own seat)
Flight time: 40mins approx
Load factor 68% (34 pax/50 seats)
The all-important boarding pass
Island Air Dash 8 parked in front of the Commuter terminal where Go! operates
Time to board! I love walking out onto the apron to board the aircraft
The classic T-tail view of N651BR
Cool blue leather seats on board. The CRJ is a reasonably comfortable aircraft for short sectors, though the windows are a little too low for passenger comfort!
The Go! cabin
HNL airport on rotation Runway 8L
We're airborne!
Climb-out over Honolulu
The harbour. One of the cruise ships is the new Queen Mary II which was about to head to Sydney for a historic meeting with the QE II.
Great shot of the Waikiki beach area
More of Oahu before heading out to the south-east
Now we hit the coast of the next island - Molokai I think
Interesting cloud formations over Maui's volcanoes
Finally on the ground at Big Island - Hilo Airport
Hilo departures area
Taking advantage of the great climate in airport design!
Now time for the Chopper trip!!
10 February 2007
Safari Helicopters
Hilo (ITO) - Hilo (ITO)
AS-350 N963SA
Flight time: 50mins approx
Load factor 100% (6 pax/6 seats)
Aha! Here we have some hot stuff. But where is the lava I've always wanted to see?
Finally! A childhood dream come true. Real live view of the hot red stuff! The money paid is already worthwhile!
A real estate agent's dream - Hawaii grows all the time like this without any human intervention. Though you'll have to wait a few years before this land is suited to housing!!!
The power of nature at work
A few pretty waterfalls on the way back to Hilo
And back!!
The trip back to HNL was on Aloha Airlines, on the venerable 737-200 but given it was dark, I don't have any photos. For the record:
10 February 2007
Aloha Airlines AQ 49
Hilo (ITO) - Honolulu (HNL)
737-200 N821AL
Seat 17F (select your own seat)
Flight time: 40mins approx
Passengers: 47 (unsure of config, but a very light load)
767747 From United States of America, joined Jan 2005, 1748 posts, RR: 26 Reply 1, posted (6 years 2 months 3 weeks 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 4259 times:
Great report and pictures! I would like to visit HI soon.
ManchesterMAN From United Kingdom, joined Sep 2003, 1192 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (6 years 2 months 3 weeks 1 day ago) and read 3979 times:
Great report - you have wetted my apetite for my upcoming trip to HI in May. I will be splitting my time between Oahu and the Big Island and I can't wait!
How did you rate Aloha? I hear that islanders don't like them and that "friends don't let friends fly aloha!"
I'll be trying them out anyway, along with Hawaiian and Island Air.
HAL From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 2465 posts, RR: 53 Reply 3, posted (6 years 2 months 3 weeks 18 hours ago) and read 3821 times:
Quoting ManchesterMAN (Reply 2): I hear that islanders don't like them and that "friends don't let friends fly aloha!"
Believe me, for the last year the saying in the islands has been "Friends don't let friends fly Go!". Hawaiian and Aloha have had a friendly rivalry for years now, but in the end we do respect each other. Go! is the anthesis of everything we do and believe in. Yes, I'm biased because I work for Hawaiian, but the management of Go! (not the workers) have proven how little aloha spirit they have by their actions.
But back to the trip report - good job! I've done the helicopter tour over Maui, but not over the volcanos on the big island yet. After looking at your pictures I'll have to do that soon.
HAL
One smooth landing is skill. Two in a row is luck. Three in a row and someone is lying.
Mirrodie From United States of America, joined Apr 2000, 7419 posts, RR: 65 Reply 5, posted (6 years 1 month 2 weeks 11 hours ago) and read 3202 times:
NIce photos! Been to Hawaii twice and never did a volcano tour. THanks so much for the photos.
ALso, good to hear good things about GO! airlines.
Forum moderator 2001-2010; He's a pedantic, pontificating, pretentious bastard, a belligerent old fart, a worthless st
USXguy From United States of America, joined Jan 2006, 830 posts, RR: 6 Reply 6, posted (6 years 1 month 1 week 6 days 14 hours ago) and read 3080 times:
Quoting HAL (Reply 3): Go! is the anthesis of everything we do and believe in. Yes, I'm biased because I work for Hawaiian, but the management of Go! (not the workers) have proven how little aloha spirit they have by their actions.
You are correct. It was so wonderful to see Hawaiian and Aloha on Oprah giving away 100 roundtrip inter-island tickets to families in need at the children's hospital in Honolulu.
Oh wait, it wasn't Hawaiian and Aloha...
and if go! is so aweful, why did United Vacations/Mark Travel just sign them on??
HAL From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 2465 posts, RR: 53 Reply 7, posted (6 years 1 month 1 week 6 days 8 hours ago) and read 3002 times:
Quoting USXguy (Reply 6): You are correct. It was so wonderful to see Hawaiian and Aloha on Oprah giving away 100 roundtrip inter-island tickets to families in need at the children's hospital in Honolulu.
Oh wait, it wasn't Hawaiian and Aloha...
Going on Oprah and making a spectacle of yourself in a PR move doesn't make you a good airline. Offering good service at sustainable fares that help keep thousands of locals employed does. How many other community projects has Mesa been involved with in the Hawaiian community compared to HA and AQ? Is Mesa really being kind hearted and offering the locals a good deal with low airfares? If Mesa can afford to continue offering seats at $19 a pop, why did they pull out of flights to Lake Havasu City, where they charged $200+ to fly to PHX and LAS? Apparently it is because, as Jonathan Ornstein said, "It's really pretty simple. We just could not operate profitably."
If Mesa couldn't operate a much cheaper aircraft (Beech 1900) for 10x the fare, how do they expect to continue offering the people of Hawaii "a better alternative" on expensive-to-run RJs at fares the passengers can afford? Are they really being kind hearted to the people of Hawaii, or are they just trying to run one of the local airlines out of business so they can jack up their fares and finally make a few dollars?
Quoting USXguy (Reply 6): and if go! is so aweful, why did United Vacations/Mark Travel just sign them on??
Because travel operators for the most part don't care about the quality of service. They are budget travel packagers and look only for the lowest cost. That is why you find most bulk travel operations on second-level and charter airlines like ATA, Omni, etc.
HAL
One smooth landing is skill. Two in a row is luck. Three in a row and someone is lying.
ANCFlyer From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (6 years 1 month 1 week 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 2813 times:
Excellent Report!!!
THe Helo tour over the volcano is a great adventure. I've done it in a commercial chopper and in an OH-58 - with no doors. Even at 1000AGL leaning out of cabin one can feel the heat rising off the lava.
Another thrill - and a MUST do at Volcano Park - is a hike out onto the flow.
Hawaiian717 From United States of America, joined May 1999, 3091 posts, RR: 8 Reply 11, posted (6 years 1 month 1 week 3 days 7 hours ago) and read 2742 times:
Quoting ManchesterMAN (Reply 2): I hear that islanders don't like them and that "friends don't let friends fly aloha!"
You have been reading FlyerTalk too much. HAL has it right, that should read "friends don't let friends fly go!"
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