HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

193

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

uRGING CONGRESS TO CONSIDER INTER-ISLAND AIR TRAVEL IN HAWAII AS A SPECIAL CASE AND PROVIDE AN EXEMPTION TO ALLOW THE STATE TO REGULATE the industry for PURPOSES of efficiency.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, as an island chain where the counties are separated by many miles of open ocean, the State of Hawaii is critically and uniquely dependent upon air transportation as the only efficient way to transport passengers, both residents and visitors alike, between the islands; and

 

     WHEREAS, many residents commute daily between the islands by air and are thus highly dependent for their livelihood on convenient, reliable, safe, and affordable air transportation services; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is limited competition for inter-island air transportation services, which tends to create a monopolistic market that manipulates fee structures, flight schedules, and standards of service; and

 

     WHEREAS, currently, rates are extremely high and routes are limited, which causes flights to sell out frequently; and

 

     WHEREAS, originally, the intra-state airline industry in Hawaii was regulated on a localized level; however, the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 preempted states from regulating interstate air transportation; and

 

     WHEREAS, inter-island air transportation in Hawaii, even though it is fully within the State, is considered interstate air transport by virtue of the air carriers' receiving certification to operate such services from the United States Department of Transportation, under the Federal Aviation Administration; and
     WHEREAS, the State has no control over the routes and the rates established by the Federal Aviation Administration or the subsequent effects such regulations have on the unique inter-island air transport industry in Hawaii; and

 

     WHEREAS, the only way Hawaii can regulate its inter-island air transport industry is through the enactment of federal legislation that deems air travel in Hawaii as a special case and allows the State to regulate intra-state air travel, rates, and routes; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that Congress is urged to consider inter-island air travel in Hawaii as a special case and allow the State to regulate the industry for purposes of efficiency; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and Hawaii's Congressional Delegation.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Inter-island Air Travel; Regulation; Rates