Hawaii Superferry said it plans to add a
second trip between Oahu and Maui beginning Jan, 16.
The second sailing
will operate daily (except Saturday), according to the inter-island
ferry operator, and will leave Oahu's harbor in Honolulu at 3:15
p.m. arriving in Maui's Kahului Harbor at 7:00 p.m. then departing
Kahului for Honolulu at 8:00 p.m.
Hawaii Superferry
currently operates daily roundtrip sailings between Honolulu
[departing at 6:30 a.m.] and Kahului [arriving at 10:15 a.m.]. The
ferry later departs Kahului for Honolulu at 11:15 a.m.
To promote the second
Maui/Oahu sailing, Hawaii Superferry said it is extending its
one-way promotional fares ($39 passenger fares and $55 vehicle
fares) through June 5.
"A second voyage to
Maui will benefit our customers who want the convenience of having
an afternoon voyage," said John Garibaldi, Hawaii Superferry's
president and CEO, in a statement. "The second voyage will also
greatly benefit our commercial customers, giving them more
flexibility in reaching their markets."
Before protests by
environmentalists and legal troubles forced Hawaii Superferry to
temporarily suspended operations for nearly four months, it also
offered service to Kauai.
After resuming
Oahu-Maui service on Dec. 13, the company said it was evaluating
when to relaunch the Oahu-Kauai service. The company indicated that
the relaunch is still pending.
"Providing service to
Kauai is very important to us," Garibaldi said. "We recognize and
appreciate the strong support from many in the community. We've
decided, however, to initiate a second voyage to Maui sooner in
order to allow more time in which to work with the community on
Kauai to ensure a safe and successful resumption of
service."
To
contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to Michael
Milligan at mmmilligan@travelweekly.com.