Mokulele Airlines has been awarded the federal Essential Air Service contract to continue serving Lānaʻi for the next four years.
Three airlines submitted bids for the route. Mokulele's proposal received mixed support from the Lānaʻi community. But the U.S. Department of Transportation selected the company for factors such as its connections with larger airlines at hub airports, experience providing service, and its requested subsidy amount.
Mokulele will provide Lānaʻi with 63 round-trip flights per week. Twenty-one of those weekly round trips will be to Kahului, while 42 round trips will fly to Honolulu. The airline flies nine-seat Cessna Caravan aircraft.
The airline will receive an annual subsidy for the route between $4 and $5 million — a total of $19.4 million — until the contract expires in August 2030.
"It is an honor to have been selected by the DOT to continue operating the Lānaʻi EAS contract," Louis Saint-Cyr, President of Airline Operations at Mokulele's parent company, Surf Air Mobility, said in a press release. "For many years, the Lānaʻi community has depended on our operations to keep the island connected, and we take our commitment seriously as evidenced by our recent investment in local infrastructure and operating capabilities. This contract also rewards the broader investments we've made into our Hawaiʻi operations where we provide safe, reliable, and profitable air service, and where we continue building toward our ambition of operating the first commercial passenger electric flights in the country.”
Mokulele previously completed a two-year contract for Lānaʻi starting in 2024, and holds EAS contracts for several other Hawaiʻi routes.
The U.S. Department of Transportation established the Essential Air Service program in 1978 to ensure rural, remote or underserved communities have flight access to larger hubs. The program offers subsidies, if needed, to air carriers on a per-flight basis.
