mtofell

It would usually be really easy get out of filling the form if you just put it in your pocket, etc. when they hand it to you. The FAs usually come by in several "sweeps" and pick them up and don't seem to keep track of who has filled it out and who hasn't. To be clear I'm not advocating this... just pointing out that the system is not exactly perfect.

Visconti

HI, while a State, mind as well be foreign country to me, and I didn't see any FAs collecting any of the forms. They passed it out. No one cared. No one filled it out. And, the FAs were completely uninterested once they passed out the forms. I still remember sitting there wondering why they passed it out. Then, you step into HNL, where on Earth would you drop the forms?

gaobest

I feel that I had to hand in the form on flight and I also always fill out both sides. In fact I didn’t know that one side was optional. Ugh. I like sharing the info.

mtofell

FA always hands them to someone immediately after opening the door.

denver19

I travel monthly between HI and the mainland. I fill out 1 side of the form from time to time. Nobody seems to care about it anymore. I'd say I hand it in less than 50% of the time. I also never travel with snakes, funghi, or other prohibited items.

Weatherboy

There's an effort to combine it into SafeTravels to eliminate the paperwork.

LIH Prem

Over the years .. some FAs are just a little more pedantic than others about the form. In the old days you could just check none of the above, sign and date it and turn it in, which is really all the AG people care about.

I'm sure some of you remember the Linda Lingle days when there was a video about the form telling you there were severe penalties and fines for not filling it in and turning it in.

-David

ExplorerWannabe

IIRC, the Ag checks on departures were instituted because California blamed Hawai`i for their white fly infestations in the 1970s. I found that somewhat ironic because it seemed to me that WE got white flies from THEM. I hadn't heard of white flies in the islands before California had its problems and I haven't seen evidence of it since. No other state that I know of had those concerns but some bureaucrat probably figured it was easier to inspect ALL bags rather than just the flights headed to California.

Lavarock7

The visitors side (I understand is options) still helps Hawaii with planning. In fact, Hawaii dis such a good job on collecting and using the collected info that Las Vegas approached us on how to better collect visitor stats.

Hawaii Travel groups use the collected data to determine trends in housing and whether more resources are needed and where.

In a somewhat more time critical and somewhat similar vein...

I am one of the part time docents at the Painted Church in Honaunau on the Big Island. Most days are somewhat steady but others we are slammed with tour buses all at one time from whatever cruise ship is in port. IF we know in advance that there is a cruise ship coming, we can clean and open the alternate bathrooms and have extra help. For cruise ships we rely upon the Non Profit Destination Kona Coast. They don't do planes, just greet ships. However, you get the idea. On a longer term if the airline forms show trends that more people are heading to specific islands for different periods, car rental companies and hotels can change schedules, hire more people, adjust inventory, etc. The trends help planning.

As for AG, we DEFINITELY want to avoid people just bringing in stuff. We have had many issues just with coffee because of imported plants and animals. Recently the coffee-borer beetle was introduced because someone imported coffee from outside Hawaii. Coffee rust also came that way. These diseases and pests cannot travel thousands of miles on their own, they were carried in. Hawaii has more endangered plants and animals than anywhere else I know of.

Case in point, a recent coffee convention was held at an exclusive resort. A vendor was setting up his display and it included various bottles and packages of green coffee from various countries. I asked him if the items were checked in Hawaii and he said, "I don't know, I had them in my suitcase in the plane.". I immediately called the AG representative over and she immediately confiscated all his coffee. She harshly told him he cannot bring plants or animals into the state without an inspection. Even his paperwork for the coffee expo stated that in bold letters.

Whichever blender or farm which brought in those coffee plants which had the beetle on them, however it happened, caused up to 90% of many coffee farms to be devastated with an insect we had no defenses to kill. We are still fighting that one insect the past 12 years.

So in my opinion the AG form is critical and the visitor side is extremely helpful.

LIH Prem

But the AG form didn't stop anything, according to that account. The problem stems from people who ignore the regulations and forms.

-David