LIHUE — United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz landed at the Lihue Airport Thursday morning with the intention of keeping up the personal relationships that go into the company’s operations in Hawaii. His Kauai visit was the last stop after visiting all the islands this week.
United operates seven daily departures (in peak season) on Kauai, utilizing both 757 and 737 aircraft. The company also employs over 2,000 individuals throughout Hawaii, making it a mainstay of United’s operations. The company has been serving Hawaii for over seven decades, and Munoz doesn’t anticipate that changing anytime soon.
“We have had tremendous growth into the islands over the last two to three years,” Munoz said. “So we don’t have a lot of significant growth plans per se, only because we understand that these islands are precious jewels and you don’t want to overwhelm them.”
One of the reasons for his visit to the Hawaiian Islands was to prepare the United team for new competition that will be sharing the Lihue Airport.
“We’re planning to continue to do a great service,” Munoz said.
Southwest Airlines recently started serving Hawaii, though it hasn’t yet added any flights to and from Kauai.
Munoz added it’s not about fighting it out, but rather an ohana and how you blend in with everything.
“It’s a competitive industry, people are allowed to come in,” Munoz said. “We think we do it well and we’ve done it well for a long period of time. So really just to reassure both the community and our folks that we’re committed to this market. We’ll compete effectively, but nothing is going to happen to the customers that continue to come with us.”
One of the main United cities serving the Hawaiian Islands, and Kauai in particular, is Denver, he said.
“That’s been one of our fastest-growing hubs and it’s a big tech space, employment is going through the roof,” Munoz said. “We like to grow with the community and sort of go about it that way. We want to be in the background, but we want to support the community. We don’t want to overwhelm if at all possible.”
One of the questions that Munoz gets about Kauai is what other services or destinations will be offered.
“Everybody in a community always wants more, but not too much more, so you gotta balance that,” Munoz said. “More growth, more seats, is there other places that we can go? Somebody just asked about Houston directly to here. Houston is not a particularly good market (for Hawaii). People in that south part of the U.S., it’s already hot, there’s not as much demand down there. So we will find the right markets to start here when ready. It’s always about growth, there’s always issues with infrastructure.”
Munoz doesn’t see one singular plan for Hawaii, but rather individual plans for each island.
“It’s not a Hawaiian island strategy, it’s a specific Kauai strategy, a specific Big Island strategy,” Munoz said. “They’re very different markets with very different needs, so we like to tailor.”
He said United picks its markets where the demand is.
“And as much as possible, we like to sync up the sort of people that come here,” he said.
On Thursday, United unveiled the world’s, “most eco-friendly commercial flight ever” from O’Hare International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport that utilized sustainable aviation biofuel, zero cabin waste and 100 percent carbon offset.
“Some of us, like United, have made very firm commitments to reducing our carbon footprint where others have not,” Munoz said. “We’ve made a significant and probably the largest commitment to biofuels.”
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Ryan Collins, county reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or rcollins@thegardenisland.com.
