Hawaii Flights Suspended

Makes sense to me. I hope that is long enough but I doubt it.

WOW!
I hope that it is successful to keep Covid-19 out of the islands.

They already have cases.

https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/03/17/breaking-news/hawaii-records-4-more-cases-of-coronavirus-including-big-islands-first-case/

Gov. David Ige today took the extraordinary step of asking all Hawaii visitors to postpone their trips for the next 30 days and reschedule “for another date...........................But Ige emphasized that his call to postpone island visits is essential to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
“We’re suggesting all activities shut down for the next 15 days,” he said.

Does not look like a prohibition, but an urgent plea.

Thanks Princess Pupule. This doesn't surprise me. We were going to cancel our upcoming flights within this time frame anyway. Good for him. Time will tell....

We’ve been on the Big Island through all of this and just moved our flights forward to return to the mainland for Sunday.

We’ve been staying in a condo and avoiding being with groups of people, etc. to avoid picking it up or being a carrier. We still see people sitting in full restaurants, gatherings at parks, etc. as we drive by, even as of today.

We stopped briefly in Target for groceries, and the basics are gone and other items picked over, ie only the most expensive yogurt remained.

Hoping the full impact of the virus doesn’t hit the vulnerable elderly people here!

I haven't seen any further info. regarding the call for 30 day suspension or the suggestion to shut down activities x 15 d. Interesting that I received an email from HA Airlines today advertising flights to the other Islands. It was encouraging visits to all the islands! Sounds like business as usual??

Alaska just updated their travel advisory to allow changes to flights including travel dates through May 31, 2020 (was April 30, 2020):
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/advisories/travel-advisories?int=AS_HOMEADVISORY_-prodID:Awareness#flex

Looks like I should be able to reschedule my May trip to HNL/KOA or get a credit for future travel..

hey hey janis
i read starbulletin.com everyday. if flights even go out, they are planning a 14 day quarantine at your home or hotel. no flights are going to kauai "island on vacation", molokai has protestors at airport holding signs to go back home, i would think maui has same issues. heard was a 30 day period for the flights to return to flying again.
i'm booked with southwest for may 11 to kona. haven't received any info from them.
looks like edgar has from alaska air.
also have hilo -hnl - hilo on may 15 to 18 flight with southwest. i don't need to worry about hotels or car since staying with family and attending graduations, which may not even happen. this does not look promising. yes a disappointment to spend time with family but it is what it is. i'm retired so can go anytime and can always plan a party anytime (we call it hawaiian time).
keep your eyes open about travel alerts. seems everyday is something new with the changes.
aloha

Edgar & Princess,
Thanks for the updates. I will stayed tuned.

Just wanted to follow up on the disposition of our trip. We received an email from HA Airlines that we qualified for a refund. I called HA early this am and was able to connect within an hour. We will receive a full refund and our companion fare amount will also be credited as well. We are grateful & appreciate the great customer service.

Aloha 🌺

hey hey janis
thanks for the update, happy to hear you were refunded.
my niece tells me all UH graduation ceremonies are cancelled, a disappointment for all students. i was hemming and hawing about cancelling and took the leap this morning after talking with my sister that lives there.
southwest has reduced it's flights to only 2 a day, oakland to honolulu. i don't want to be locked up for 14 days except to see a doctor or be a burden to my family (they wouldn't think so).
i went online to cancel, will put in a "travel fund" account, which is okay with me since i do plan to travel "home" when this pandemic will let us travel. will check my credit card later if i misread it. no biggie to me.
aloha

The biggest issue is how to feed those who live there, not counting tourists. The islands (and all of Polynesia) depend on daily deliveries of food. Without that they will starve. There is no way the islands can be self supporting with the huge increases in population over the last 50 years. If you think the shelves were bare yesterday, wait until you see what 2-3 weeks without a food delivery from the mainland is going to look like.

Looks like trips to Hawaii are not going to happen anytime soon.

The biggest issue is how to feed those who live there, not counting tourists.

Hawaii's biggest issue after health is the economical impact. Hawaii's governor is correctly prioritizing health. That said, Hawaii's economy is tourism. I'm planning on rescheduling my May trip to the fall or winter.

Food and supplies are not the problem. The problem will be income to afford the food and goods (and housing etc). COVID-19 is not impacting container ship deliveries.
https://www.hawaiipublicradio.org/post/hawaii-coronavirus-impact-committee-handed-grim-prognosis#stream/0

Supply Chains In Place

There was good news to report. The islands are not facing a
supply-side shortage of food and other consumer goods. Lauren Zirbel
with the Hawaii Food Industry Association told the committee that
Mainland manufactuers do not expect production issues.

"We do not currently have a supply chain issue for basic food supplies
and we do not anticipate there being a supply chain issue. There is no
need to hoard basic food supplies. That is counterproductive to public
health,” Zirbel said.

Although packaging for some food items comes from China, Zirbel said
suppliers on the mainland believe they have an adequate supply to
maintain uninterrupted production and distribution.

Zirbel acknowledged there are nationwide shortages of consumer goods
like hand sanitizer, disinfectants, and toilet paper. She said
shipments of those items would continue arriving in Hawaii, but that
each retailer will only be given a certain allotment to prevent
hoarding.

hey hey edgar
i cancelled my flight yesterday for may 11 to kona. got two different messages, southwest to put in travel funds acct and email says back to credit card, will wait and see. don't bother me cuz i will fly "home" to see family.
my sister was on executive board with matson (ILWU), read they are shipping twice a week from here, then on to neighbor islands, enough to fill shelves and people need to stop hoarding!!! plus stay off the streets is something people just don't understand, it's all about them and not us.
we are still having shortages here of the same products even though a friend says she can shop 20 miles from me and get the products.
was surprised to read and hear that some tourists/residents didn't understand shelter in place for 14 days, with no outside contact except doctor's and hotels at their own cost. makes me wonder why people would travel anywhere and do they even read the news. it's another all about me issue.
aloha