Holy crap, I didn't realize they hadn't done any work on it since 2015! I'm a bit worried about the rest of the projects now, if they can't handle a hangar, is this state going to be capable of getting a concourse and a rental car center built?

All the more reason to create a private airport authority to operate the States airports. Clearly, the State has failed at this spectacularly. HNL and the rest of Hawaii's airports are an embarrassment to our state, its people and the visitors that pass through these beleaguered facilities.

The private authority will basically be what is now the Airports Division, right?

I don't see how creating a separate bureaucracy fixes anything, even if it's a so-called independent one.

The source of their problems is their own incompetence to manage these projects from end to end. Just look at how they accepted the captive bonding company and then said that they were qualified. That is incompetence at just about every level. If what they said is true, then they failed miserably in writing the requirements and/or they failed miserably doing their due diligence just on that item alone, which is huge, because the bonding company is the entity that has to pay to complete the job when the contractor fails to do so.

So, please, by all means, tell me how making the Airports Division a separate entity is going to solve anything if it ends up being the same incompetent people running it?

If they are starting from scratch and actually can find competent non-political appointees to competently operate a private entity, fine, but that's not how things work here.

-David

And here's part 2 of the story: http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/0...3b3cb702b6b9ce

So HA took control of the hangar. They found at least 3500 deficiencies including significant cracks in the concrete flooring. New estimate of total cost including the fixes is $120 million. Hawaiian is "prepaying" the rent to finance the costs.

I would say the complete opposite.

The problem is primarily that the State used private contractors and a tender process for a project it should have just done itself.

I guess they want to move away from the State's procurement process, which might help speed up the slow pace of procurement.

But that doesn't solve the problem with project management, which they seem incapable of doing themselves in cases like the airport modernization program and the Hawaiian hanger project. That's the part that's not being addressed.

-David

And the drama continues....this time about the cancelled commuter terminal:

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/0...fb05274d3a2491

If I was HA, I would fight tooth and nail to not give up the Makai Pier gates. Seems like Island Air and Mokulele had lofty goals that couldn't pan out without lots of money. Move them to the Central or Diamond Head Concourse. Or better yet, move them to the main terminal and do what AA did at LAX for American Eagle flights and build a bare bones commuter terminal and bus passengers from the main terminal to the commuter terminal. They can convert some of the hardstands next to the Diamond Head Concourse for this. That was where the original commuter terminal was going to be anyway.

Exactly. Whomever thinks that squeezing Island Air and Mokulele into the already crowded terminal 2 has their head in the sand and is a ridiculous solution. HA is ponying up MILLIONS of dollars to clean up the messes the State has created. Perhaps it's time for Island Air and Mokulele to do the same. They ought to help the state build something realistic at the Diamond Head hard stands, asap, vacate the commuter terminal and get this project done. In the end, a modernized HNL will benefit everyone.

Gotta agree with you (and HA) on that. It's hard to see how it makes sense to further squeeze HA's already-squeezed operation for the convenience of a marginal competitor or two.

Anyone know what the deal is with gate 51 in the Makai Pier? It doesn't look like it's been used in ages.

I'm guessing 51 is not used to facilitate multiple parking stands for the Ohana operation, which boards from gate 49.

50 is used for regular 717s though...

Huh, that's true. Another theory on the gate 51 closure is that I'm pretty certain that HA reconfigured the parking footprint when they started parking at the makai pier. The 717 and 737-200 share the same wingspan, but the 717 is longer. Also, the 737-700 has wider wings but is still shorter than the 717.

Regarding gate usage, I thought I saw an A330 parked at gate 54.

Now that the widening of the taxyways going/coming from the Interisland terminal is almost done, are we going to see the A330 parked there?

Gate 54 has been used in the past for 767 flights and since December (when KOA-HND started) the 330. Other than 54, I don't think there are any plans to use any other gates in T2 for the 330. If you notice, when a 767 is parked at T2 it's always at 57,59, or 61. The adjacent gate has to be closed to accommodate the wingspan. The 330 might just be too much wingspan for the other gates.