HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A new coalition has launched an effort to use all-electric vehicles known as Seagliders to transport passengers and cargo between the islands.
The Hawaii Seaglider Initiative has the backing of the governor and the state Department of Transportation, along with major companies including Hawaiian, Alaska, Japan, United and Mokulele airlines. Mokulele hopes to be the first to fly the planes interisland.
Regent Craft, based in Rhode Island, has been doing test flights of a small scale prototype of the all-electric, zero emissions Seaglider since 2021. The vehicle sits in the water, rises on hydrofoils, and then flies just 30 to 60 feet above the water’s surface at up to 180 miles per hour.
“We’re moving into the full-scale prototype testing, which would then launch the commercial assembly of this vehicle,” said David Uchiyama of the Hawaii Seaglider Initiative. “We’re looking at mid-decade here, so, you know, 2026 is right around the corner.”
The planes would seat 12 passengers, with fares at $30 one-way.
Southern Airways Express, which owns Mokulele, plans to buy a fleet.
Hawaii travel industry writers are cautiously optimistic.
“Technologically it seems like they are probably going to be okay, and they’re probably going to have that small craft available in the time frame they think they are, and it will be delivered to Mokulele, and that’s a great thing,” said Jeff Tucker of BeatOfHawaii.com.
The initiative said the planes will have early-detection technology to help pilots avoid run-ins with marine life, but it’s unclear how well that would work.
“I don’t see anything yet about where the environmental impact study is coming,” said Tucker. “We know it’s coming, but we don’t know where, and we know what happened with the Superferry.”
The Superferry ran for two years before it shut down in 2009 due to court challenges over its environmental impacts, especially on marine life such as humpback whales. And back in the 1970s, the hydrofoil boat company Seaflite lasted just a few years before it closed because of rough seas between the islands.
“They were at the mercy of the ocean conditions, where this vehicle will be able to come out of the harbor, lift to the hydrofoils, and then lift off of the water’s surface,” Uchiyama said.
The company’s commercial liftoff is still not a sure thing, but Uchiyama said the Seaglider is now in the certification process with both the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration.
“It may not have a full effect in, say, my lifetime, but I think the benefits will really go to our children and their children in making this a better environment,” Uchiyama said.
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