The seemingly optimistic Hawaii Superferry sailings
The Hawaii Superferry has certainly had quite a ride. Last year saw, among other events, a launch, a halt due to protests, a relaunch and cancellations due to rough weather. But lately, at least on the surface, it seems like it’s business as usual, with the Superferry even adding second voyages four days per week between Oahu and Maui, starting May 9, 2008.
Is all going swimmingly on the high seas then? Hard to tell. Sure, the occasional passenger gets seasick on the topsy-turvy waters, but more troubling was a report that the boat has been seeing low passenger numbers, according to an early April Honolulu Star-Bulletin story. I tried to confirm whether this was still the case on the 866-seat ship, the Alakai.
Representing the service, Lori Abe of McNeil Wilson Communications responded, “Passenger counts are not numbers that Hawaii Superferry discloses, but passenger numbers are increasing daily and Hawaii Superferry is pleased with the response.”
Fair enough, as what else are they going to say when we annoying press people keep harping on the numbers? But if the once-daily (each way) voyages aren’t nearly full, I am wondering what the impetus is behind adding more departures at this point. The news release announcing the additions explains that the afternoon voyages will benefit those “who want the convenience of traveling later in the day and will provide greater opportunities for our residents to visit friends and family during the upcoming Memorial Day weekend and throughout the summer.”
But will they also end up benefiting the Superferry’s bottom line?
With so many variables ahead in the Hawaii summer season, I’m guessing that it’s as difficult for the Superferry officials to predict coming consumer demand as it is to chart a silky-smooth sail. We’ll see what the season brings for this still-new transport that has inspired both love and protest among locals and tourists.
— Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times
[Photo: Annie Wells / Los Angeles Times]
10 Comments on “The seemingly optimistic Hawaii Superferry sailings”
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April 23rd, 2008 at 8:23 pm
We’re still seeing local reports of approximately 50-75 passengers per sailing, far less than 10% of capacity. As you may also be aware, Superferry, at capacity, uses 3 times the fuel of air travel. I also posted a Youtube video on our site that I found showing exactly why it is called the Barf Barge. In that regard, I believe the notion that a few passengers get seasick is not in any way accurate. The Hawaiian channels are notoriously rough.
Aloha, Jeff
April 24th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Aloha, Jeff. Thank you for the feedback. I’ve enjoyed your blog and your coverage of the Superferry. I see that my reference to the “occasional” seasick passenger was an understatement. It does indeed seem a real problem and thus not unrelated to the issue I highlighted – the ferry’s low numbers. The local reports on capacity that you mention are startling.
Thanks again,
Susan
April 24th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Jeff is completely wrong on passenger counts….when we announced the acceleration of the resumption of service in April, like any other business it takes some period to get sales going. The ridership reports from Maui related to the first few days of voyages when we barely had one week of selling time. Since then, we have booked thousands of passenger and vehicle sales and over the next 4 days alone, we will have more than 1500 riders. The lesson here is that the naysayers against Superferry will remain naysayers, even in the face of real facts and data.
Key point that Susan misses in her well-written article is that we have a huge vehicle deck for the transport of cars and trucks…..the second round-trip serves not only passengers but our commercial customers as well. These customers require the increased frequency and the “pull effect” of this important customer segment is one of the key factors behind the addition of the new trips.
Regards,
Tig Krekel
HSF Lead Director
April 24th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Susan,
Check this out:
http://hisuperferry.blogspot.com/2008/04/hi-superferry-count-pics-etc-for-42108.html
Also the following left on flickr.com today:
Was talking with someone yesterday who thinks it’s too hard for any significant number of people to get up at 4am to get on the Superferry departing Oahu shortly after 6am each morning. The company needs to have at least 220 people onboard and almost 100 vehicles each way just to cover the incremental fuel cost of doing a run. To have two round-trip runs a day with either one having less revenue than their fuel cost makes no sense. It makes more sense for the company to move the departure time to later in the morning and keep it one round-trip run a day for a while.
Aloha, Brad
April 24th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Brad Parsons on Maui goes down and actually counts the people and vehicles coming off and going on to the Superferry.
(HSF is SO disengenuous)
You can see his counts at: hisuperferry.blogspot.com/
hisuperferry dot bogspot dot com
His April 21 Count:
Offloading: counted 34 vehicles, 95 people. Included 1 Fed-Ex truck and 1 Expeditors truck. “Overnighter” company looked like it booked 30 to 40% of the people. [Made me think this vessel might also do well in Japan if not Puget Sound. Believe Fed-Ex is testing the logistics of this in case Aloha Cargo pilots go on strike next week.] Did not cover fuel costs today.
Onloading: counted 22 vehicles. Included 1 Fed-Ex truck and 1 Expeditors truck. [Estimate people not counted at 3 times vehicles.] Did not cover fuel costs today.
April 24th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Press reports of seasickness inspired a local researcher to develop a “Barf Index” which you can read about at improbable.com (search for Barf-o-Meter).
While it would apply to any passenger ferry plying Hawaiian waters (and more generally, elsewhere, with correct parameters plugged in), the Superferry has provided, when it has actually sailed, an opportunity to test out the Barf Index in a real-world situation.
So those many passengers who do get seasick might at least take solace in that they may be contributing to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
And one day everyone may be able to consult a barf forecast before taking the family off on a sea trip to Maui, for example, and alter their schedule according to their own sensitivity to motion sickness.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
“Mr. Krekel” said 1500 riders in the next 4 days. Wow, that would be by far the busiest 4 days this thing has had other than the day it was returning the National Guard. 1500 in 4 days would be about 375 people a day and about 125 est. vehicles by their prior stats. That is enought to cover fuel costs, a new accomplishment for this vessel, but still not enought to break even.
Surprised “Mr. Krekel” didn’t say anything about cargo. If Aloha Air cargo pilots go on strike in two days, the single biggest news for HSF is that their cargo/commercial transports could rise dramatically at least until Aloha cargo pilots resolve their disagreement.
Wish I had the time over the next four days to go over there and count. Maybe somebody else here on Maui can make the time to go verify “Mr. Krekel.”
Appreciate the interaction.
Aloha, Brad
April 24th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Friday, Sat., and Sun. will be calm days for the passengers. Monday will be rougher. They picked good days to push it.
http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/pages/CWF.php
Here are the key expected conditions according to NOAA for the next four days. They are relatively calm conditions:
KAIWI CHANNEL-
329 PM HST THU APR 24 2008
FRIDAY:
East winds 5 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. Northwest swell 6 ft.
[Beaufort 2, BOM 1 - Calm]
SATURDAY:
Northeast winds 10 kt. Wind waves 3 ft. North swell 6 ft.
[Beaufort 3, BOM 1 - Calm]
SUNDAY:
East winds 15 kt. Wind waves 5 ft. North swell 5 ft.
[Beaufort 4, BOM 2 - Still calm]
MONDAY:
East winds 20 kt. Wind waves 6 to 7 ft. Mixed swell south 3 ft and north 3 ft.
[Beaufort 5, BOM 3 - No longer calm, was rough for pass on Apr.7]
———————————–
PAILOLO CHANNEL-
329 PM HST THU APR 24 2008
FRIDAY:
East winds 5 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. Northwest swell 6 ft.
[Beaufort 2, BOM 1 - Calm]
SATURDAY:
Northeast winds 10 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. North swell 5 ft.
[Beaufort 2, BOM 1 - Calm]
SUNDAY:
East winds 15 kt. Wind waves 5 ft. North swell 5 ft. Isolated showers.
[Beaufort 4, BOM 2 - Still calm]
MONDAY:
East winds 20 kt. Wind waves 7 ft. Swell south 3 ft and north 3 ft.
[Beaufort 5, BOM 3 - No longer calm, was rough for pass on Apr.7]
Further explanation at:
http://hisuperferry.blogspot.com/2008/02/seastate-barf-o-meter-index-v20.html
Friday, Sat., and Sun. should be good days for them.
Aloha, Brad
April 25th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Was thinking some more about that “1500 over 4 days.” Actually, that is only an avg. of 188 people per one-way trip or 375 per round-trip and an estimated 63 vehicles per one-way trip or 125 per round-trip. That daily average would probably NOT cover just their fuel expenses. Those numbers are only slightly more than what we have been counting recently.
Considering that an extended (two week) Japanese visitors Golden Week is kicking in beginning today and that HSF’s best customer appears to be Roberts Hawaii, I might have expected more bookings of Japanese visitors on HSF during the next couple weeks, esp. since Japanese visitors were using Aloha Air quite a bit in the past. Roberts does appear to be monitoring the forecasted transit conditions as have not seen them on “rough” days. Nevertheless, today, Sat., and Sun. will be calm days.
HSF might also get a cargo bump if Aloha Cargo pilots go on strike tomorrow.
Aloha, Brad
April 26th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
The long arm of HSF BS tries to extend all the way to LA with Mr. Tig’s remarks. The low passenger counts are even a matter of public record in Maui Courts! The HSF has a miserably bad history of reliability, leaving passengers and their vehicles stranded on other islands repeatedly. Given the awful schedule, the cost, the astoundingly high cancellation ratio and the high percentage of passengers who experience motion sickness it’s a wonder this turkey is still operating at all.