The lack of visitors in Hawaii has had ripple effects far and wide. Each day we see new signs of the rapid changes taking hold. Those include huge fleets of grounded aircraft and car rentals here in Hawaii. We don’t normally notice the sheer volume, since they are at all times dispersed. At least until now. It’s another visual reminder of these changing times that include checkpoints on our roads, closed beaches and that feeling of uncertainty.
Honolulu Airport now a lot for Hawaiian Airlines aircraft.
We know this is happening on the mainland too. What to do with planes that should be in the air? Most of Hawaiian Airlines’ fleet is now parked on runway 8L and an adjacent taxiway. According to the company, “at least 52 aircraft in our 61-jet fleet can be seen resting on HNL’s tarmac, waiting for the moment they can reconnect Hawai‘i to the world.” Hawaiian’s entire fleet is based in Honolulu.
The only flights operating from now through May are those deemed essential for passengers and cargo, With the remaining flights cancelled, the airline rotates aircraft in and out of the unexpected parking lot. And with other employees on furlough, 500 Hawaiian maintenance personnel remain on the job.
Parked until further notice is the entire A321 narrow-body fleet. The A330 fleet is being used for essential service, so those planes rotate in and out of parking. Parked planes are undergoing ongoing maintenance and cleaning, as well as aircraft checks which are FAA mandated every 48 hours.
Hawaii car rental parking.
Tens of thousands of rental cars are currently parked in some of the most unlikely places, including cane fields, along roads, and at stadiums, among others places.
- Maui, for example, which has the most rental cars in Hawaii, nearly 20,000 vehicles are idled.
- Oahu, the giant Aloha Stadium parking lot has been converted to store thousands of rental cars. Five companies are making use of the 6,000 stall facility. This is the first time ever that the stadium lot has been called into service.
- Kauai, car rentals can be seen parked in fields along Ahukini Landing and elsewhere.
The car rental companies, large and small, continue to pay for the cars, insurance, registration and now parking. That as virtually all of the car rental companies’ employees have been furloughed and car rentals have come to a dead halt.
Photo credit: Hawaiian Airlines.
You have a wonderful web sight. Well done!
We visit it almost daily. We are hoping to visit Hawaii this year when things settle down.
Conrad & Susan L.
Hi Conrad and Susan.
Thanks so much!!
Aloha
Plus the Pride of America cruise ship has been docked at Honolulu Harbor since mid March. I read it is going to go to dry dock next month.
TkU love Hawaii
Aloha!
Just wanted to thank you for all the information and updates. Tho I try to keep track, things are changing so fast, that your site has been invaluable!
I have a reservation on HA on 2 June to BOS…am thinking it will get rescheduled but your input has been a great help on how I might approach HA if it is cancelled.
Keep up the good work!
Mahalo!!!
Hi Lynn.
Thank you! Yes we concur that life seems to change so much with every passing day. It feels exhausting at times.
We aren’t sure about June travel but we hope to know more soon.
Aloha.
Aloha,
Your website has been valuable for our cancelled and upcoming flights to Hawaii.
Our original plan was to fly to Kauai in May. We were able to reschedule for October with no problem.
However, since the subject is rental cars, I checked our dates and the rates were astronomical. Do you think that they will come down or are the rental companies going to try to recoup losses?
Thanks again
Hi Curtis.
Our gut call is that they will come down for this fall. In the long term, they will go up. But it won’t happen that fast.
Aloha.
Thank you for all of the great information. The scenes you described above are almost difficult to picture in my minds eye. Could you share some photos?
Thanks again for the great information. Looking forward to our next visit to Kauai.
Hi Paul.
Thanks. If we could get out we would take more photos. Yesterday getting out of Lihue was a 2 hour line of cars due to the National Guard stopping all cars.
Aloha.
for pictures illustrating this story, you can go to the internet and ask for “rental cars parked in Hawaii.” you’ll get lots of pictures of unbelievable numbers of cars parked bumper to bumper. thanks Beat, you’all are the best!
Hi Diane.
Thank you!
Aloha.