A chicken in every pot and a Hawaiian shirt in every cabana: "Sex and the City" heartthrob Chris Noth imparts to his son the joys of slightly off-peak vacations.

After a summer slump, Hawaii isn't doing much better in tourism going into the fall--but the rest of the country has dropped to meet it. Why feel the thrill of clambering around a live volcano or riding your first wave when you can watch the CNBC anchors' eyes bug out after another bank collapses?

Hmm, maybe we should take our curmudgeonly selves island-ward?

Related Stories:
· Tower Terror Travel: Hawaii Air Traffic Control Goes Dark [Jaunted]
· Trends: Whither Hawaii? [NYP]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Faded Youth Blog]]]> egw 2008-09-19T09:15:31-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/14/23636/9463

The sensitive, tortured artist known as Kanye West was arrested last week after smashing a paparazzo's camera at LAX. So what did he do right after he was detained from getting on his commercial flight? Got on another plane!

West left for his original destination of Hawaii on a private jet out of Van Nuys later Thursday afternoon.

In Honolulu he had time to resume posting to his blog and has been working on his next album at Avex Studios, which has offices in Hawaii and LA. He still gets his vacation in and he's on TMZ 24/7? Kid is a genius.

Related Stories:
· Tabloid Travel: Kanye Busted at LAX for Pap Rap [Jaunted]
· Kanye West: "I'm Cool With the Paparazzi" [People.com]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Cleveland Leader]]]> egw 2008-09-15T09:15:28-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/13/102845/373

Note to tourism board directors: Don't use your work computer to send out porn to your buddies! The future of Hawaii Tourism Authority CEO, Rex Johnson, is in jeopardy after he admitted to sending at least one racy email to friends. But after a lengthy closed-door meeting yesterday, the authority board still hasn't made a decision on whether to fire Johnson, who's been working in the industry for more than two decades.

Yesterday, the board heard more than 60 pieces of testimony in favor of the work Johnson has done, including positive comments from tour operators, airline employees and community leaders. But a senior vice president at Starwood Hotels says people are speaking out not because they like Johnson but because they want to catch the attention of his buddies at the Hawaii State Legislature:

Please know that this [pro-Johnson] view is not the majority of the industry but there is a reluctance to speak out due to the legislative support he has gotten.

The board of the authority hopes to reach a decision on Johnson's future "within days."

Related Stories:
· Board Still Deciding on Hawaii's Tourism Chief [Advertiser]
· HTA Deliberates over CEO's Fate [Star-Bulletin]
· Tourism Board Adjourns with No Decision [Biz Journals]
· Hawaii Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: skyseeker]]]> pbb 2008-08-13T10:30:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/6/233814/4846

Get ready for packed airplanes on the routes to the islands this fall--and possibly more connections to get there: The number of airline seats landing in Hawaii from the US mainland and other parts of the world is expected to fall by roughly 13 percent this fall.

Seats from the West Coast should fall by 15 percent; from the East Coast capacity is only declining by six percent. Seat tallies into Hawaii from Japan, Australia and New Zealand will all fall by double-digits.

The news does make some sense considering that two of the largest fliers into Hawaii--ATA and Aloha--both went belly-up recently and that the cost of long-haul flights has skyrocketed with the ever-increasing price of fuel. The upshot? A Hawaii seat squeeze is likely here to stay for some time.

[Alex Salkever is the editor and founder of Hawaiirama, a Hawaii travel blog]

Related Stories:
· Projected Air Capacity to Hawaii off 13 Percent [Biz Journals]
· Hawaii Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: eye of einstein]]]> ASalkever 2008-08-08T14:00:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/27/222533/836

It's good to know that despite her "High School Musical" fame, Ashley Tisdale is still happy to go on family outings. She must've been glad to be there this weekend when father Mike Tisdale caught a 480-pound marlin off the coast of Maui last week.

Tisdale wasn't on the boat with her dad when he caught the fish, but she posed for a picture for the Lahaina News with the big catch. After the jump, the incriminating family photo that shows what Papa Tisdale caught off KuiKui Point. ]]> egw 2008-07-28T08:35:24-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/17/16420/3667

After lots of drama, it seems that the Hawaii Superferry is finally catching on. Seats on the boat sold out on some trips over the Fourth of July weekend, and officials say ridership is on the rise. But is that because people genuinely enjoy it?

Doubtful, says Jeff from the Beat of Hawaii blog:

The best deal through September 30 for Oahu-Maui travel is the Superferry, which is $98 round trip. But you must book by August 4.

Hawaiian Airlines and go! are doing the same duopoly that Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines did for years. The average round trip is now back at about $200, which was what it was before go! entered and sometimes dropped prices to below $20 round trip.

Ah hah! So it's not really that people enjoy the Superferry any more than they like flying; it's simply the cheapest way to go island-to-island. We will give 'em some credit though: You can actually take liquids aboard the boat!

Related Stories:
· Superferry Ridership up [KHNL, via]
· Hawaii Travel coverage [Jaunted]

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Starting August 10, your first checked bag on Hawaiian airline go! will cost $10 and the second piece of luggage will cost $17. Guess the carrier figures there's not really any goodwill to lose.

Meanwhile, Delta has announced that it's still holding off on adding a checked baggage charge, while potential merger partner Northwest recently announced a $15 fee for the first bag.

To keep up on all the latest fees, your best bet is Rick Seaney's Domestic Airline Fee Chart, which is always up-to-date.

Related Stories:
· go! Airlines' Baggage Policies [Official Site]
· Domestic Airline Fee Chart [Rick Seaney]
· Airline Fees coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: aspengull]]]> pbb 2008-07-16T12:30:18-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/