All around terrible experience…
We booked a Wednesday tour at 1pm and were excited for our trip, until we received a phone call day of, canceling our flight because they had 4 rather than 5 people signed up. They rebooked us to the following day at 3:30, upending our plans for our last day on the island, and to a day predicted to have inclement weather.
My wife is an anxious flier, but was excited all the same. We arrived just in time to watch the pilots shaky landing from the tour before, while the other helicopters landed without issue. My wife was asked to board first, approaching the aircraft with blades flying overhead because they didn’t bother to shut down from the flight before. She was a little hesitant as she started into the aircraft causing the pilot to roll his eyes and swear out loud in disgust, while the other staff member was pushing her from behind. Clearly NOT the way to handle someone experiencing anxiety. This sent my wife over the edge and she backed away saying I can’t do this. This resulted in the pilot swearing out load again, which I heard myself because I was asked to come get my wife, and then to turn the craft off while he recalculated the weights.
We were ushered back to the waiting area, where we saw the pilot exit the aircraft walk up to me and ask “Are you flying alone?” When I responded “It seems like it”, his response was “Well you don’t have to go”, clearly wanting me to walk away. He then walked over to a cooler, where he pulled out a silver metal bottle which looked suspiciously like a Coors Light, slammed it and return to the helicopter. We boarded in the same order we had before, with the escort informing me that my wife’s flight would not be refunded (clearly not the time for that discussion) and took off, but not until the pilot checked his Venmo account to see if he was being tipped from previous flights.
The rest of the flight the captain kept the waterfalls and Nā Pali Coast on the right side of the craft while I sat on the left, clearly being punished for what he felt was an inconvenience to his day. 50 min later and another shaky landing, we were on the ground being asked to make sure we tip… They can inconvenience you without compensation, but if you get nervous they will not support you, and will gladly keep your money.