Alaska Airlines is implementing a major initiative that will change travel between Hawaiian Islands — here’s what you need to know

Inter-island travel across Hawaiʻi is about to get a lot cheaper and a lot cleaner, thanks to the partnership between Alaska Airlines and the Hawaii Seaglider Initiative.

The Hawaiʻi Seaglider Initiative is introducing its Seaglider, an electric vehicle that combines characteristics “of boats, hydrofoils, and aircraft,” to provide inter-island travel throughout Hawaiʻi in lieu of planes and ferries, reported One Green Planet.

This initiative has been bolstered by its partnership with Alaska Airlines, which contributes to sustainable initiatives like this to achieve its goal of reaching net-zero carbon pollution by 2040, as per One Green Planet.

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The Hawaiʻi Seaglider Initiative is beneficial to the environment and bank accounts alike. Because the seagliders are electric, they will curb a great deal of air pollution that comes from airplanes. This is important as pollution from the aviation sector is expected to increase by 3-4% per year, per the International Civil Aviation Organization.

It is anticipated that the seagliders would cost customers about $30 per trip in between islands, as opposed to the range of $40-$200 it can cost via airplanes, reported Forbes. This means that visitors would have more access to inter-island travel, all while doing so in a way that would maintain the health of the environment.

The partnership between the Hawaiʻi Seaglider Initiative and Alaska Airlines is a great example of major companies taking meaningful actions to reduce their negative environmental impact. Another example of this is the partnership between United Airlines and the 49ers NFL team, which worked to purchase sustainable aviation fuel for the team’s travel.

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The seagliders are manufactured by Regent, a company that specializes in the design and creation of different seagliders for different capacities.

On the collaboration with the Hawaiʻi Seaglider Initiative and Alaska Airlines, Regent co-founder and CEO Billy Thalheimer stated, “Hawaiʻi is a special place, with a sacred culture, sensitive environmental ecosystems, and unrivaled biodiversity. We are excited and humbled to be part of the Hawaiʻi Seagliders Initiative to share our technology and to accelerate Hawaiʻi’s push toward a zero-emission future.”

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