Hawaii airports see biggest drop in fares

Lihue had the lowest airfares of all U.S. airports in the second quarter of 2007.
The Kauai airport reported a 29 percent decrease in airfares compared to the same period in 2006, according to new government data.
The fare for travel from Lihue averaged $138.
That compares to an average domestic itinerary fare of $326, round-trip or one-way, down 4.5 percent from the year before.
The next three largest decreases in airfares were in Kona, Kahului and Honolulu.
Charleston, S.C., had the fifth largest decrease in airfares, down about 14 percent from second-quarter 2006.
The airfare data come from a U.S. Department of Transportation report released Wednesday. The D.O.T. surveys the top 100 airports based on originating passengers.
The highest fare increases nationally were in Cincinnati, Hartford, Conn., Dallas, Anchorage, Alaska, and Salt Lake City.
Hawaii's top interisland carriers -- Hawaiian Airlines, Aloha Airlines and go!, operated by Phoenix-based Mesa Air Group (Nasdaq: MESA) -- have been in a fare war since June 2006, with one-way tickets running as low as $9.