Hawaii Superferry Sets Sail

Hawaii Superferry set sail today for its first commercial passenger trips to Maui and Kauai. The launch of Superferry service came 2 days earlier than announced after the Hawaii State Department of Transportation (HDOT) cleared them for operation despite a Hawaii Supreme Court ruling which will require that an environmental assessment must be done.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the environmental wacko groups like the Sierra Club who is party to the obstructionist litigation were happy with the ruling on Thursday. By Friday afternoon Hawaii Superferry Inc., countered this with the blessing of HDOT and announced that the first voyage would be today. They coupled this announcement with a surprising $5 promotional ticket sale for voyages now to September 5.

Needless to say nearly all of the voyages for the promotional period are sold out. The response Hawaii Superferry has been getting from the community has been good so far. Only a tiny minority of people wacked on getting the Superferry stopped have continued to use the legal system to put the kibosh on this inter-island travel alternative.

The enviro wacks hope to convince a judge tomorrow to stop Hawaii Superferry operations. If they do, several thousand paying customers will be hugely inconvenienced by these environmental extremists. The fallout from such a ruling will be huge and will further cement Hawaii’s continuing rotten reputation of being one of the worst states to do business in the U.S.

Photos: Hawaii Superferry Alaka'i leaves Honolulu Harbor this morning on her first commercial passenger trip and passes by incoming cruise liner NCL Pride of Aloha. More photos at this link.